vO< 




V- 














>0 V 













"C t o« : e.. 










, V . I B 






& 



• , ~o 



V 



0© 




0°, 



<&f)vonu\t$ 



LONDON BRIDGE 



AN ANTIQUARY. 




STtje gbwontr C?tn'tton. 



LONDON: 
PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG, 73, CHEAPSIDE, 



MDCTCXXXIX 







London : 
bradbury and evans, printers. whitefriar&, 




TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL 

JOHN GARRATT, ESQ., 

ALDERMAN OF THE WARD OF BRIDGE WITHIN ; 

WHO, AS 

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, 
LAID THE FIRST STONE 



THE NEW LONDON BRIDGE, 

On Wednesday, June 15th, 1825 ; 

&f)ege (Chronicles 

ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



The plan of narrative adopted in the ensuing pages, is 
recommended by both the sanction and the example of 
very learned antiquity ; since, without referring to the 
numerous classical volumes, which have been written 
upon the same principle, two of the most ancient and 
esteemed works on English Jurisprudence have honoured 
it with their selection. Of the accuracy of the historical 
events here recorded, the authorities so explicitly cited 
are the most ample proofs ; and, that they might be the 
more generally interesting, whatever may have been 
their original language, the whole are now given in 
English : so that an argument should lose none of its 
effect from its too erudite obscurity, nor an illustration 
any of its amusement by requiring to be translated. 

The collection and arrangement of these materials 
have been a labour so unexpectedly toilsome and ex- 
tended, as, it is hoped, fully to excuse every delay in 
the work's appearance ; and, but for the valuable aid of 
those numerous friends who have so kindly assisted its 
progress, it must have still been incomplete. Of these 



Vlll PREFACE. 

the first and the most fervent has been John Garratt, 
Esq., who, by a singularly happy coincidence, was at 
once the founder of the New London Bridge, as Lord 
Mayor, and a native, and Alderman, of the Ward con- 
taining the Old one. Of other benefactors to these sheets, 
the names of Henry Smedley, Esq. ; H. P. Standley, 
Esq. ; Henry Woodthorpe, Esq., Town Clerk ; Mr. 
Joseph York Hatton ; Mr. John Thomas Smith, of 
the British Museum ; Mr. William Upcott, of the 
London Institution ; and Mr. William Knight, of the 
New Bridge Works ; will sufficiently evince the impor- 
tance of their communications ; to whom, as well as to 
the many other friends, whose kindnesses I am forbidden 
to enumerate, I thus offer my sincerest acknowledge- 
ments. The Historians of the Metropolis have hitherto 
passed over the subject of this work far too slightingly : 
it will be my most ample praise to have endeavoured to 
supply that deficiency, by these 

Chronicles of London Bridge. 

June 15, 1827. 




DESCRIPTIVE LIST 



THE EMBELLISHMENTS. 



1. Historical Title-page, displaying a rich Gothic edifice, sur- 
rounded by the Effigies, Armorial Ensigns, &c. of the most 
eminent persons connected with the history of London Bridge. 
The two upper figures represent Richard, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, and Cardinal Hugo di Petraleone, who subscribed so liber- 
ally to its original foundation, (see page 46,) and the two lower 
ones, Kings John and Edward I., commemorative of the Bridge 
having been finished in the reign of the former, and of the 
several grants made to it by the latter. In the upper centre is 
suspended a banner, with the present Royal Arms of England, 
alluding to the foundation of the New-London Bridge in the 
reign of George IV.; and beneath it, a representation in tapestry, 
of the triumphal entry of Henry V. across the ancient Bridge, 
in 1415, after the victory of Agincourt, described on pages 160 — 
166; at the sides of which are groups of banners, &c, com- 
memorative of some of the principal persons engaged in the 
•battle. Below are the Armorial Ensigns of King Henry II., 
the Priory of St. Mary Overies, the ancient device of Southwark, * 



X LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. 

PAGE 

and the Monograms of Peter of Colechurch, and Isenbert of 
Xainctes ; the benefactors and Architects of the First Stone 
Bridge at London. Beneath these is a monumental effigy of 
Peter of Colechurch ; under which appear the ancient and 
modern Arms of the City of London, see page 1 27 ; those of 
Robert Serle, Mercer, and Gustos of London in 1214, the prin- 
cipal citizen to whom the finishing of the Bridge was entrusted, 
see page 55 ; those of Henry Walleis, Lord Mayor m 1282, and 
an eminent benefactor to London Bridge, see pages 96, 97 ; 
and in the centre, the shield of John Garratt, Esq., Alderman 
of the Ward of Bridge-Within, and Lord Mayor in 1824-25, who 
laid the First Stone of the New Edifice: see pages 473,474. 
Designed and Drawn by W. Harvey, from ancient Historical 
authorities ._„-. = ._- [y 

2. Antique Rosette Device on the Title-page, containing the Armorial 

Ensigns of England, the City of London, the Borough of South- 
ward and the Priory of St. Mary Overies v 

3. Dedication Head-piece : an Ornamental Group, consisting of the 

Amorial Ensigns, &c. of the City of London, the Company of 
Goldsmiths, and the Right Worshipful John Garratt - - vii 

4. Head-piece : Exterior View of the river-front of Fishmongers' 

Hall, with the Shades' Tavern below it xi 

5. Initial Letter : View down Fish- Street-Hill, comprising the Monu- 

ment, St. Magnus' Church, and the Northern Entrance to Lon- 
don Bridge --------- l 

6. Ancient Monumental Effigy, from the Church of St, Mary Overies, 

Southwark ; reported to represent John Audery, the Ferryman 
of the Thames, before the building of London Bridge. Copied 
from an Etching by Mr. J. T. Smith, Keeper of the Prints and 
Drawings in the British Museum ------ 29 

7. Ancient Water- Quintain, as it was played at upon the River 

Thames, near London Bridge, in the 12th century; Copied from 
an Illuminated Manuscript in the Royal Library in the British 
Museum ----------43 

8. Ancient Boat- Tournament of the same period: copied from tire 

same authority --------43 

9- Architectural Elevation of the Centre and Southwark end of the 

First Stone Bridge erected over the Thames at London, A. D. 

1209. Drawn from Vertue's Prints, and other authorities - 56 
10. Ground-plan of London Bridge, as first built of Stone by Peter of 

Colechurch, A. D. 1209. Drawn from the measurements and 

surveys of Vertue and Hawksmoor - - - - - 60 
lit Western Exterior of the Chapel of St. Thomas, on the centre 

pier of the First Stone London Bridge, A. D. 1 209. Drawn from 

the same authorities --------62 

1 2. Interior View of the Upper Chapel contained in the above, looking 

Westward. Drawn from Vertue's Prints - - - - 63 



LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. XI 

PAGE 

13. Interior View of the Crypt, or Lower Chapel, contained in the 

above, looking Eastward. Drawn from the same authorities - 64 

14. Southern Series of Windows in ditto. Drawn from the same 

authorities - - -- - - - - -65 

15. Ancient Date of 1497, carved in Stone, found on London Bridge 

in 1758, and supposed to commemorate a repair done in the 
former year - - - - -- - - - 219 

16. Eastern View of- part of London Bridge, as it appeared in the 

reign of King Henry VII. ; showing the houses, &c. then erected 
upon it, and the whole depth of the Chapel of St. Thomas. 
Copied from an Illuminated Manuscript in the Royal Library in 
the British Museum ---.---- 220 

17. Ancient Dates of 1509 and 1514, carved in. stone, and found in 

1758 with the former - - 223 

IS. Cage and Stocks on London Bridge, with the confinement of a 

Protestant Woman, in the reign of Queen Mary - - - 244 

19. Southern View of Traitors' Gate at the Southwark end of London 

Bridge, with the heads erected on it in 1579. Drawn from the 
Venetian copy of Visscher's View of London, and other authori- 
ties " 247 

20. Southern front of the old Southwark Gate and Tower, at the 

South end of London Bridge, as they appeared in 1 647. Drawn 
from W T . Hollar's Long Antwerp View of London - 250 

21. Southern front and Western side of the Nonesuch House and 

Drawbridge erected on London Bridge, at the above period. 
Drawn from the same authority - - - - - -251 

22. Western side of the Nonesuch House on London Bridge, as it 

appeared in the time ofQueen Elizabeth. Copied from a Tracing 
of an original Drawing on vellum, preserved in the Pepysian 
Library, in Magdalen College, Cambridge - 253 

23. Ancient Corn Mills erected on the Western side of London 

Bridge, at Southwark. Drawn from the same authority - - 260 

24. Ancient Water- Works and Water-Tower standing on the Western 

side of London Bridge, at the North end. Drawn from the same 
authority - - - - - - - - 261 

25. General View of the Western side of London Bridge, with all its 

ancient buildings, taken from the top of St. Mary Overies' Chuich 
in Southwark, at the close of the Sixteenth Century. Drawn by 
W. H. Brooke - - . 269 

26. Copy of a Brass Token, issued by John Welday, living on Lon- 

don Bridge in 1657. Drawn from the Originals in the Col- 
lection of the late Barry Roberts, Esq. in the British Museum 282 

27. Other Tokens in Brass and Copper, issued by Tradesmen residing 

at London Bridge. Drawn from the Originals in the British 
Museum . - - - - - - - - - ib. 



XU LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. 

PAGE 

28. Obverses of Two Medalets struck by P. Kempson, and P. Skid- 

more, of London Bridge, and Bridge-Gate. Drawn from the 
Originals ---------- 284 

29. Group of buildings at the Northern end of London Bridge, de- 

stroyed in the Fire of 1632-33. Drawn from the Venetian Copy 

of Visscher's View of London - - - - - -291 

30. Ground Plan of the Old Stone Bridge of London after the Fire of 

1632-33, the extent of which is indicated by the dotted line at- 
tached to the seventh sterling from the left hand, or City end, 
where the Waterhouse was situate. Copied from an Original 
Drawing on Parchment, preserved in the Print Room of the 
British Museum -_. 295 

31. Northern end of London Bridge after the Fire of 1 632-33, showing 

the Old Church of St. Magnus, and the temporary wooden pas- 
sage erected on the sites of the houses, as it appeared in 1647. 
Drawn from the Long Antwerp View by Hollar - - - 297 

32. View of the same part of London Bridge in the year 1665, before 

the Great Fire of London, showing the last wooden passage 
and King's Gate, afterwards burned. Copied from a contem- 
porary etching by Hollar 298 

33. View of the Northern end of London Bridge, and part of the 

banks of the Thames as they appeared in ruins after the Great 

Fire of London, in 1666. Copied from a contemporary view by 

- W. Hollar - - - - - - - - - 326 

34. Ancient View of Fishmongers' Hall from the river, before the 

Great Fire of London, A.D. 1666. Drawn from the Long Ant- 
werp View, by W. Hollar - - - - - - 327 

35. View of the Northern end of London Bridge, with the Water- 

works and Tower, as they appeared in 1749. Copied from Buck's 
View of London _------- 340 

36. Southern side of Bridge Gate, as rebuilt in 1728 - - - 359 

37. Eastern side of London Bridge before the taking down of the 

Houses in 1758. Drawn from Scott's View, taken from St. 
Olave's Stairs --- 370 

38. Chapel of St. Thomas on London Bridge, with the adjoining 

houses, as they appeared at their taking down in 1758. Drawn 
from a contemporary Etching - - - - - - 381 

39. Southern front of the Nonesuch House on London Bridge, with 

the Draw-Bridge, as they appeared in their dilapidated state 
previously to their taking down in 1758. Drawn from a picture 
then painted by J. Scott ------- 382 

40. Eastern View of the Southwark Gate and Tower on London 

Bridge, as they appeared previously to their taking down in 1758. 
Drawn from the same authority ----- 



LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. Xlll 

PAGE 

41. Northern View of the Temporary Bridge adjoining London Bridge 

on fire, during the night of April II, 17-8. Drawn by W. H. 
Brooke, from an Engraving by Wale and Giignion, with other 
contemporary authorities ------- 385 

42. Western side of London Bridge, showing the ruins of the Tempo- 

rary Bridge, and the destruction occasioned by the fire of 1758. 
Drawn by W. H. Brooke, from the view by A. Walker and W. 
Herbert - 390 

43. Part of the middle of London Bridge, showing the wooden Cen- 

tering upon which the Great. Arch wa<? turned, when the Chapel 
Pier was taken away, and the whole edifice repaired, in the 
year 1759. From a Drawing by Mr. W. Knight - - - 394 

44. Section of the Northern Pier of the Great Arch of London Bridge, 

showing its modern state, and the ancient method of constructing 
the Piers. From a Drawing by Mr. W. Knight, in August, 1821, 
when open for examining the foundation - - 398 

45. Elevation and Ground-plan of Old London Bridge, showing the 

various forms, &c. of the Sterlings, the line of soundings taken 
along their points, a section of the bed of the River, and the dif- 
ferent sizes of the several Locks ; with Mr. Smeaton's method 
of raising the ground under the great Arch, and the timbers laid 
down to strengthen it. in 17 l J3-94, Reduced from the large sur- 
vey made by Mr. George Dance, in July 1799, and published with 
the Second Report on the Improvement of the Port of London 429 

46. South-Eastern View of London Bridge, A. D. 1825 - - - 441 

47. Eastern View of the Sixth Arch of London Bridge, from the City 

end, usually called the Prince's Lock, as it app ared in the great 
Frost of 1814 ; showing the modern stone casing, with the original 
building beneath it. Copied by permission from a View taken 
on the spot and engraved by Mr. J. T. Smith - 445 

48. Silver Effigy of Harpocrates, discovered in digging the foundations 

of the New London Bridge, and preserved to the British Museum 
by Messrs. Rundell, Bridge, and Rundell, November 12, 1825. 
Drawn from the Original by W. Harvey - 467 

49. Architectural Elevation and Ground -plan of the New London 

Bridge, showing its foundation -piles, and relative situation to the 
former edifice. From the original authorities - 470 

50. Entrance to the Coffer-Dam from London Bridge, as it appeared 

decorated for laying the First Stone of the New Bridge, on Wed- 
nesday, June 15, 1825. Drawn onthe spot - 478 

51. Western end of ditto. Drawn from the River - - - - 479 

52. General View of the Exterior of ditto. Drawn on the South side 480 

53. General View of the Interior of ditto, looking Southward ; show- 

ing the position of the First Stone, with the cavity beneath it for 
depositing the Coins, &c. From a Drawing made on the spot - 483 



XIV LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. 

PAGE 

54. Representation of the Silver-Gilt Trowel, presented to the Right 

Honourable John Garratt, for laying the First Stone of the New 
London Bridge. Drawn from the original - - - 486 

55. Obverse of a Medal struck to commemorate the above ceremony, 

containing busts of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. Drawn 
by W. H. Brooke from the original Model, in the possession of 
Joseph York Hatton, Esq., executed by Peter Rouw and W. 
Wyon, Esquires, Modeller and Die-Sinker to His Majesty - 495 

56. Western side of the New London Bridge, looking down the River, 

Drawn by T. Letts - 497 



" This is a Gentleman, every inch of him ; a Virtuoso, a clean Virtuoso : 
— a sad-coloured stand of claithes, and a wig like the curled back of a mug- 
ewe. The very first question he speered was about the auld Draw-Brig, 
that has been at the bottom of the water these twal-score years. And how 
the Deevil suld he ken ony thing about the auld Draw-Brig, unless he were 
a Virtuoso ? " 

Captain Clutterbuck' 's Introductory Epistle to the Monastery. 



Chronicles! 



OF 



LONDON BRIDGE. 




stuff/' For my own 

proving, I must even give up the ghost; since. 



O numerous are the alterations 
and modernisms in almost every 
street of this huge metropolis, 
that, I verily believe, the con- 
servators of our goodly city are 
trying the strength of a London 
Antiquary's heart ; and, by their 
continual spoliations, endeavour- 
ing to ascertain whether it 
be really made of u penetrable 
part, if they continue thus- im- 

in a 
little time, there will not be a spot left, where any fea- 
ture of age will carry back my remembrance to its 
ancient original. What with pullings-down, and build- 
ings-up ; the turning of land into canals, and covering 
over old water-ways with new-paved streets; erecting 
pert plaster fronts to some venerable old edifices, and 
utterly abolishing others from off the face of the earth ; 
London but too truly resembles the celebrated keepsake- 
knife of the sailor, which, for its better preservation, had 
been twice re-bladed, and was once treated with a new 
handle. One year carried with it that grand fragment 
of our city's wall, which so long girdled in Moorfields ; 
while another bedevilled the ancient gate of St. John's 



2 CHRONICLES OP 

Priory with Heraldry, which Belzebub himself could 
not blazon, and left but one of the original hinges to its 
antique pier. Nay, there are reports, too, that even 
Derby House, the fair old College of Heralds, — where 
my youth was taught " the blasynge of Cote Armures," 
under two of the wisest officers that ever wore a tabard, 
— that even that unassuming quadrangle is to be forth- 
with levelled with the dust, and thus for ever blotted 
from the map of London ! Alas for the day I Moorgate 
is not, and Aldgate is not ! Aldersgate is but the shadow 
of a name, and Newgate lives only as the title of a prison- 
house ! In the absence, then, of many an antique building 
which I yet remember, I have little else to supply the 
vacuum in my heart, but to wander around the ruins of 
those few which still exist : — to gaze on the rich tran- 
somed bay-windows that even yet light the apartments 
of Sir Paul Pindar's now degraded dwelling ; to look with 
regret upon the prostituted Halls of Crosby House ; or 
to roam over to the Bankside, and contemplate the fast- 
perishing fragments of Winchesters once proud Episcopal 
palace. 

It was but recently, in my return from visiting the spot 
last mentioned, that I betook me to a tavern where I was 
erst wont to indulge in another old-fashioned luxury, — 
which has also been taken away from me, — that of 
quaffing genuine wine, drawn reaming from the butt in 
splendid silver jugs, in the merry Old Shades by London 
Bridge. I loved this custom, because it was one of the 
very few fragments of an ancient citizens conviviality 
which have descended to us : a worthy old friend and 
relative, many a long year since, first introduced me to 
the goodly practice, and though I originally liked it 
merely for his sake, yet I very soon learned to admire it 
for its own. It was a most lovely moonlight night, and 
I placed myself in one of the window boxes, whence I 
could see the fastly-ebbing tide glittering with silvery 
flashes; whilst the broad radiance of the planet, cast 



LONDON BRIDGE. 6 

upon the pale stone colour of the Bridge, strikingly con- 
trasted with the gas star-like sparks which shone from 
the lamps above it. u Alas ! " murmured I, " pass but 
another twenty years, and even thou, stately old London 
Bridge ! — even thou shalt live only in memory, and the 
draughts which are now made of thine image. In modern 
eyes, indeed, these may seem of little value, but unto 
antiquaries, even the rudest resemblance of that which is 
not, is worth the gold of Ind ; and Oh ! that we possessed 
some fair limning of thine early forms ; or Oh ! for some 
faithful old Chronicler, who knew thee in all thine 
ancient pride and splendour, to tell us the interesting 
story of thy foundation, thine adventures, and thy fate ! " 

It was at this part of my reverie, that the Waiter at 
the Shades touched my elbow to inform me, that a stout 
old gentleman, who called himself Mr. Barnaby Post- 
ern, had sent his compliments, and desired the pleasure 
of my society in the drinking of a hot sack-posset. " My 
services and thanks," said I, " wait upon the ancient ; I 
shall be proud of his company : but for sack-posset, 
where, in the name of Dame Woolley, that all-accom- 
plished cook, hath he learned how to ? but he 

comes/' 

My visitor, as he entered, did not appear any thing very 
remarkable ; he looked simply a shrewd, hale, short old 
gentleman, of stiff formal manners, wrapped in a dark- 
coloured cloak, and bearing in his hand a covered tankard, 
which he set upon the table betwixt us; after which, 
making a very low bow, he took his seat opposite to me, 
and at once opened the conversation. 

" Your fame," said he, u Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, 
as a London Antiquary, is not unknown to me ; and I 
have sometimes pleased myself with the thought, that 
you must be even a distant relation of my own, since tra- 
dition says, that the Barbicans and the Posterns originally 
received their names from having been gate-keepers in 
various parts of this fair city : but of that I will not 
b 2 



4 CHRONICLES OF 

positively speak. Howbeit, I am right glad of this fel- 
lowship, because I have some communications and reflec- 
tions which I would fain make to you, touching the earlier 
days of that Bridge, under which the tide is now so rapidly 
running. ,, 

" My dear Mr. Postern," said I, in rapture, " nothing 
could delight me more than an Antiquary's stories of that 
famous edifice ; but moralising I abominate, since I can 
do that for myself, even to admiration; so, my good 
friend, Mr. Barnaby, as much description, and as many 
rich old sketches, as you please, but no reflections, my 
kinsman, no reflections." 

" Well," returned my visitor, " I will do my best to 
entertain you; but you very well know, that w T e old 
fellows, who have seen generations rise and decay, are 
apt to make prosing remarks. However, we'll start 
fairly, and taste of my tankard before we set out : trust 
me, it's filled with that same beverage which Sir John 
FalstafF used to drink o'nights in East Cheap ; for the 
recipe for brewing it w r as found, written in a very ancient 
hand upon a piece of vellum, when the Boar's Head was 
pulled down many a long year ago. Drink, then, worthy 
Mr. Barbican ; drink, good Sir ; — you'll find it excellent 
beverage, and I'll pledge you in kind." 

Upon this invitation, I drank of my visitor's tankard ; 
and believe me, reader, I never yet tasted any thing half 
so delicious ; for it fully equalled the eulogium which 
Shakspeare's jovial knight pronounces upon it in the 
second part of " King Henry the Fourth," act iv. sc. iii. ; 
where the merry Cavalier of Eastcheap tells us, that 
" A good Sherris sack hath a two-fold operation in it : it 
ascends me into the brain, dries me there all the foolish, 
and dull, and crudy vapours which environ it : makes it 
apprehensive, quick, forgetiv r e, full of nimble, fiery, and 
delectable shapes; which, delivered o'er to the voice, 
(the tongue,) which is the birth, becomes excellent wit. 
The second property of your excellent Sherris is, — the 



LONDON BRIDGE. D 

warming of the blood ; which, before cold and settled, 
left the liver white and pale, which is the badge of pusil- 
lanimity and cowardice. : but the Sherris warms it, and 
makes it course from the inwards to the parts extreme. 
It illumineth the face ; which, as a beacon, gives warn- 
ing to all the rest of this little kingdom, man, to arm ; 
and then, the vital commoners, and inland petty spirits, 
muster me all to their captain, the heart ; who, great, 
and puffed up with this retinue, doth any deed of courage ; 
and this valour comes of Sherris : so that skill in the 
weapon is nothing, without sack ; for that sets it a- work : 
and learning, a mere hoard of gold kept by a devil, till 
sack commences it, and sets it in act and use. If I had 
a thousand sons, the first human principle I would teach 
them should be, — to forswear thin potations, and addict 
themselves to sack !" 

Truly, indeed, I felt all those effects in myself ; whilst 
my visitor appeared to be so inspired by it, that, as if all 
the valuable lore relating to London Bridge had been 
locked up until this moment, he opened to me such a trea- 
sure of information concerning it, that, I verily believe, he 
left nothing connected with the subject untouched. He 
quoted books and authors with a facility to which I have 
known no parallel ; and, what is quite as extraordinary, 
the same magical philtre enabled me as faithfully to retain 
them. Indeed, the posset and his discourse seemed to 
enliven all my faculties in such a manner, that the very 
scenes of which my companion spake appeared to rise 
before my eyes as he described them. When Mr. Pos- 
tern had pledged me, therefore, by drinking my health, 
in a very formal manner, he thus commenced his dis- 
course. 

" You very well know, my good Mr. Barbican, that 
Gulielmus Stephanides, or, as the vulgar call him, Wil- 
liam Fitz- Stephen, who was the friend and secretary of 
Thomas a Becket, a native of London, and who died 
about 1191, in his invaluable tract, c Descriptio Nobilis- 



CHRONICLES OF 

simse Civitatis Londoniae,' fol. 20, tells us, that to the 
North of London there existed, in his days, the large 
remains of that immense forest which once covered the 
very banks of this brave river. ' Proscime patet ingens 
forestaj &c. begins the passage ; and pray observe that I 
quote from the best edition, with a commentary by that 
excellent Antiquary, Dr. Samuel ~Pegge^ published in 
London, in the year 1772, in 4to. Ever, Mr. Barbican, 
while you live, ever quote from the editio optima of every 
author whom you cite ; for, next to a knowledge of books 
themselves, is an acquaintance with the best editions. 
But to return, Sir ; in those woody groves of yew, which 
the old citizens wisely encouraged for the making of their 
bows, were then hunted the stag, the buck, and the doe ; 
and the great northern road, which now echoes the tuneful 
Kent bugle of mail-coach-guards, was then an extensive 
wilderness, resounding with the shrill horns of the Saxon 
Chiefs, as they waked up the deer from his lair of vert 
and brushwood. The very paths, too, that now behold 
the herds of oxen and swine driven townward to support 
London's hungry thousands, then echoed with the bel- 
lowing of savage bulls, and the harsh grunting of many a 
stout wild boar. But, as you have observed, / am to 
describe scenes, and you are to moralise upon their 
changes ; so we'll hasten down again to the water-side, 
only observing, that the site of the ancient British Lon- 
don is yet certainly marked out to you, by the old 
rhyming stone in Pannier Alley, by St. Paul's, which 
saith, — 

' WHEN Y v HAVE SOVGHT 
THE CITY ROVND, 
YET STILL THIS IS 

THE HIGHEST GROVND.' 

" Now, Julius Caesar tells you in his Commentaries 
' De Bello Gallico/ lib. v. cap. xxi. that ' a British town 
was nothing more than a thick wood, fortified with a 
ditch and rampart, to serve as a place of retreat against 



LONDON BRIDGE. / 

the incursions of their enemies/ Here, then, stood our 
good old city, upon the best Vantage ground of the 
Forest of Middlesex; the small hive-shaped dwellings 
of the Britons, formed of bark, or boughs, or reeds 
from the rushy sides of these broad waters, being inter- 
spersed between the trees ; whilst their little mountain 
metropolis, the ; locum reperit egregie naturd, atque 
opere munition,' a place which appeared extremely strong, 
both by art and nature, — as the same matchless classic 
called those primitive defences, — was guarded on. the 
North by a dark wood, that might have daunted even 
the Roman Cohorts ; and to the South, where there was 
no wilderness, morasses, covered with fat w^eeds, and 
divided by such streams as the Wall-brook, the Share- 
burn, the Fleta, and others of less note, stretched down- 
ward to the Thames. As Caesar and his Legions marched 
straight from the coast, worthy old Bagford was certainly 
in the right, when, in a letter to his brother- antiquary 
Heame, he said, that the Roman invader came along the 
rich marshy ground now supporting Kent Street, — in 
truth very unlike the road of a splendid conqueror, — 
and, entering the Thames as the tide was just turning, 
his army made a wide angle, and was driven on shore 
by the current close to yonder Cement Wharf, at Dow- 
gate Dock. This you find prefixed to Tom Hearne's 
edition of Leland's c Collectanea de Rebus Britannicis,' 
London, 1774, 8vo, vol. i. pp. lviii. lix. : and many an 
honest man, since c the hook-nosed fellow of Rome,' 
before a bridge carried him over the waters dry-shod, 
has tried the same route, in preference to going up to 
the Mill-ford, in the Strand, or York-ford which lay still 
higher. In good time, however, the Romans, to com- 
memorate their own successful landing there, built a 
Trajectus, or Ferry, to convey passengers to their famous 
military road which led to Dover. But history is not 
wholly without the mention of a Bridge over the Thames 
near London, even still earlier than this period; for, 



8 CHRONICLES OF 

when Dion Cassius is recording the invasion of Britain 
by the Emperor Claudius I., a. d. 44, he says, — ; The 
Britons having betaken themselves to the River Thames, 
where it discharges itself into the Sea, easily passed over 
it, being perfectly acquainted with its depths and 
shallows: while the Romans, pursuing them, were 
thereby brought into great danger. The Gauls, how- 
ever, again setting sail, and some of them having passed 
over by the Bridge, higher up the River, they set upon 
the Britons on all sides with great slaughter; until, 
rashly pursuing those that escaped, many of them 
perished in the bogs and marshes/ This passage, which 
it must be owned, however, is not very satisfactory, is 
to be found in the best edition of the ' Histories Romance J 
by Fabricius and Reimar, Hamburgh, 1750-52, folio, 
vol. ii. p. 958; in the 60th book and 20th section. 
The Greek text begins, ' 'Avaxcoprjo-avrcav 5' eVret/0ev rwv 
Bp€TTavo0V iirl rbv Ta/j.4(xav iroraiibv,' &C. ; and the Latin — 
4 Inde se Britanni ad fluvium Tamesin. 7 I have only 
to remind you that Dion Cassius flourished about a. d. 
230. Before we finally quit Roman London, however, 
I must make one more historical remark. The inscrip- 
tion on the monument which I quoted from Pannier 
Alley, is dated August the 27th, 1688 ; and if even at 
that period, — through all the mutations of the soil, and 
more than sixteen centuries after the Roman Invasion, — 
the ground still retained its original altitude, it yet further 
proves on how admirable a site our ancient London was 
originally erected : — well worthy, indeed, to be the metro- 
polis of the world. This also is remarked by honest 
Bagford, in his work already cited, where, at page lxxii., 
he says, — c For many of our ancient kings and nobility 
took delight in the situation of the old Roman buildings, 
which were always very fine and pleasant, the Romans 
being very circumspect in regard to their settlements, 
having always an eye to some river, spring, wood, &c. 
for the convenience of life, particularly an wholesome 



I 



LONDON BRTDGE. 9 

air. And this no doubt occasioned the old Monks, 
Knights Templars, and, after them, the Knights of St. 
John of Jerusalem, as also the Friars, to settle in most 
of the Roman buildings, as well private as public : which 
thing, if duly considered, will be found to be a main 
reason why we have so few remains of them/ 

u As I have always considered that the Romans had 
no more to do with Britain, than Joe the waiter here 
would have in a Conclave of Cardinals, I will not trouble 
you with any sketch of the dress or manners of the 
ferryman and his customers, during their government. 
Indeed, as a native of London, I always lament over it 
as the time of our captivity ; and so I shall hasten on to 
the tenth century, when our Runic Ancestors from 
Gothland were settled in Britain; — when courage was 
the chiefest virtue, and the rudest hospitality " 

" Have pity upon me, my excellent" Mr. Postern," 
interrupted I, " for I am naturally impatient at reflec- 
tions ; if you love me, then, give me scenery without 
meditations, and history without a moral." 

" Truly, sir," said he, u I was oblivious, for I'd got 
upon a favourite topic of mine, the worth of our Saxon 
forefathers ; but we'll cut them off short by another 
draught of the sack-posset, and take up again with the 
establishment of a ferry by one Master Audery, in the 

year nine hundred and ninety Ah ! see now, my 

memory has left me for the precise year, but nevertheless, 
Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, my service to you." When he 
had passed me the tankard, after what I considered a 
very reasonable draught, Mr. Postern thus continued. 

M I hold it right, my friend, to mix these convivialia 
with our antiquarian discussions, because I know that 
they are not only ancient, but in a manner peculiar to 
this part of the water-side ; for we find Stephanides, 
Stephanus ab Stephano, as I may jocularly call him, 
whom I before quoted, saying at fol. 32, 'Prceterea est in 
Londonia super ripamfluminisf &c. ; but well give the 



10 CHRONICLES OF 

quotation in plain English. ' And moreover, on the 
hanks of the river, besides the wine sold in ships ' — that 
is to say, foreign wines of Anjou, Auxerre, and Gascoigne, 
though even then we had some Saxon and Rhenish wines 
well worth the drinking, — ' besides the wines sold in 
ships and vaults, there is a public eating-house, or cook's 
shop. Here, according to the season, you may find 
victuals of all kinds, roasted, baked, fried, or boiled. 
Fish, large and small, with coarse viands for the poorer 
sort, and more delicate ones for the rich, such as venison, 
fowls, and small birds. In case a friend should arrive at 
a citizens house, much wearied with his journey, and 
chooses not to wait, an- hungered as he is, for the buying 
and cooking of meat, 

The water's served, the bread's in baskets brought. 

Virg Mn. i. 705. 

and recourse is immediately had to the bank above men- 
tioned, where everything desirable is instantly procured. 
No number so great, of knights or strangers, can either 
enter the city at any hour of day or night, or leave it, 
but all may be supplied with provisions, so that those 
have no occasion to fast too long, nor these to depart the 
city without their dinner. To this place, if they be so 
disposed, they resort, and there they regale themselves, 
every man according to his abilities. Those who have 
a mind to indulge, need not to hanker after sturgeon, nor 
a guinea-fowl, nor a gelinote de bois' — which some call 
red-game, and others a godwit — ' for there are delicacies 
enough to gratify their palates. It is a- public eating- 
house, and is both highly convenient and useful to the 
city, and is a clear proof of its civilization/ 

Thus speaks Fitz-Stephen of the time of Henry II. 
between the }^ears 11 70 and 1182 ; and if you look but 
two centuries later, you shall find that John Holland, 
Duke of Exeter, held his Inn here at Cold Harbour, 
and gave to his half-brother, King Richard the Second, 
a sumptuous dinner, in 1397* Then too, when this spot 






LONDON BRIDGE. 11 

became the property of the merry Henry Plantagenet, 
Prince of Wales, by the gift of Henry the Fourth, the 
same King filled his cellars with 4 twenty casks and one 
pipe of red wine of Gascoigne, free of duty/ This you 
have on the authority of John Stow, on the one part, in 
his ■ Survey of London,' the best edition by John Strype, 
&c. London, 1754, fol., vol. i. p. 523 ; and of Master 
Thomas Pennant, on the other, in his ' Account of 
London,' 2d edit. London, 1791, 4to, p. 330 ." 

" Ay, Mr. Postern," said I, " and that same Cold 
Harbour is not the less dear to me, forasmuch as Stow 
noteth, in the very place which you have just now cited, 
that Richard the Third gave the Messuage, and all its 
appurtenances, to John TTrythe, Garter Principal King 
of Arms, and the rest of the Royal Heralds and Pursui- 
vants, in 1485. " — " True, Mr. Geoffrey, true," answered 
my visitor ; " and you may remember that here also, in 
these very Shades, did King Charles the merry regale 
incognito ; and here, too, came Addison and his galaxy 
of wits to finish a social evening. Then, but a little 
above to the North, was the famous market of East 
Cheap ; of which our own Stow speaks in his book before 
cited, p. 503, quoting the very rare ballad of ' London 
Lickpenny/ composed by Dan John Lydgate, of which 
a copy in the old chroniclers own handwriting is yet 
extant in the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 542, art. 17, fol. 
102, of which stanza 12 says, — 

' Then I hied me into Estchepe ; 

One cried ribes of befe, and many a pie, 

Pewtar potts they clatteryd on a heape, 

Ther was harpe, pipe, and sawtry, 

Ye by cokke, nay by cokke, some began to cry, 

Some sange of Jenkin and Julian, to get themselves mede ; 

Full fayne I wold hade of that mynstralsie 

But for lacke of money I cowld not spede l f 

" Lydgate, you know, died in the year 1440, at the 
age of sixty. In the present day, indeed, we have only 
the indications of this festivity in the names of the ways 



12 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

leading down to, or not far from, the river ; as Pudding 
Lane, Fish Street Hill, the Vine-tree, or Vintry, Bread- 
street " 

" Hold ! hold ! my dear Mr. Barnaby," interrupted I, 
" what on earth has all this long, muster-roll of gluttony 
to do with London Bridge % You are as it were endea- 
vouring to prove, that yonder is the moon lighting the 
waters; for certes, it is a self-evident truth, that the 
citizens of London have from time immemorial been 
mighty trencher-men ; nay, if I remember me rightly, 
your own favourite Stephanides says, c The only plagues 
of London are, immoderate drinking of idle fellows, and 
often fires :' so that we'll take for granted, and get on to 
the Bridge." 

" You are in the right," answered Mr. Postern ; " the 
passage begins, * Solce pestes Londonice* &c, at fol. 42, 
and truly I wished but to show you how proper a place 
these Shades are to be convivial in ; but now we will but 
just touch upon the Saxon Ferry and Wooden Bridge, 
and then come at once to the first stone one, founded by 
the excellent Peter of Colechurch, in the year 1176. I 
would you could but have seen the curious boat in which, 
for many years, Audery the Ship- wight, as the Saxons 
called him, rowed his fare over those restless waters. It 
was in form very much like a crescent laid upon its 
back, only the sharp horns turned over into a kind of 
scroll ; and when it was launched, if the passengers did 
not trim the barque truly, there was some little danger 
of its tilting over, for it was only the very centre of the 
keel that touched the water. But our shipman had 
also another wherry, for extra passengers, and that had 
the appearance of a blanket gathered up at each end, 
whilst those within looked as if they were about to be 
tossed in it. His oars were in the shape of shovels, or 
an ace of spades stuck on the end of a yard measure ; 
though one of them rather seemed as if he were rowing 
with an arrow, having the barb broken off, and the flight 



094. j LONDON BRIDGE. 13 

held downwards. It is nearly certain, that at this period 
there was no barrier across the Thames ; for you may 
remember how the c Saxon Chronicle/ sub anno 993, 
tells you that the Dane Olaf, Anlaf, or Unlaf, '"mid thrym 
et hundnigentigon scipum to Stane,' — which is to say, 
that c he sailed with three hundred and ninety ships to 
Staines, which he plundered, and thence went to Sand- 
wich/ 

" Before I leave speaking of this King Olaf, how- 
ever, I wish you to observe the paction which he made 
with the English King Ethelred, for we shall find him 
hereafter closely connected with the history of London 
Bridge. The same authority, and under the same year 
and page, tells you that, after gaining the battle of 
Maldon, and the death of Alderman Britnoth, peace was 
made with Anlaf, 6 and the King received him at Epis- 
copal hands, by the advice of Siric, Bishop of Canterbury, 
and Elfeah of Winchester/ On p. 17 J, in the year 991, 
you also find this peace more solemnly confirmed, in the 
following passage : ; Then sent the King after King 
Anlaf, Bishop Elfeah, and Alderman Ethel werd, and 
hostages being left with the ships, they led Anlaf with 
great pomp to the King, at Andover. And King Ethel- 
red received him at Episcopal hands, and honoured him 
with royal presents. In return, Anlaf promised, as he 
also performed, that he never again would come in a 
hostile manner to England/ I quote, as usual, from 
the best edition of this invaluable record, by Professor 
Ingram, London, 1823, 4to. It is generally believed, 
however, that the year following Anlaf's invasion, 
namely 994, there was built a low Wooden Bridge, 
which crossed the Thames at St. Botolpk's Wharf 
yonder, where the French passage vessels are now lying ; 
and a rude thing enough it was, I'll warrant ; built of 
thick rough hewn timber planks, placed upon piles, 
with movable platforms to allow the Saxon vessels to 
pass through it Westward. A Bridge of any kind is 



14 CHRONICLES OP [a. D, 

not so small a concern but what one might suppose you 
could avoid running against it, and yet William of 
Malmesbury, the Benedictine Monk, who lived in the 
reign of King Stephen, and died in 1142, says, that, in 
994, King Sweyn of Denmark, the Invader, ran foul 
of it with his fleet. This you find mentioned in his 
book, ' De Gestis Regum Anglorum,' the best edition, 
London, 1596, fol. : — though, by the way, the preferable 
one is called the Frankfurt reprint of 1601, as it contains 
all the errata of the London text, and adds a good many 
more of its own ; for I am much of the mind of Bishop 
Nicolson, and Sir Henry Spelman, who observe that the 
Germans committed abundance of faults with the En- 
glish words. In this record, which is contained in Sir 
Henry Savile's ' Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores post 
Bedam,' of the foregoing date and size, at fol. S8 b , is 
the passage beginning ' Mox ad Australes regiones,' &c, 
of which this is the purport. 

" ' Some time after, the Southern parts, with the in- 
habitants of Oxford and Winchester, were brought to 
honour his' — that is to say King Sweyn s — 'laws: the 
Citizens of London alone, with their lawful King'— 
Ethelred the Second — 'betook themselves within the 
walls, having securely closed the gates. Against their 
ferocious assailants, the Danes, they were supported by 
their virtue, and the hope of glory. The Citizens rushed 
forward even to death for their liberty ; for none could 
think himself secure of the future, if the King were 
deserted, in whose life he committed his own : so that 
although the conflict was valiant on both sides, yet the 
Citizens had the victory from the justness of their cause; 
every one endeavouring to show, throughout this great 
work, how sweet he estimated those pains which he 
bore for him. The enemy was partly overthrown ; and 
part was destroyed in the River Thames, over which, in 
their precipitation and fury, they never looked for the 
Bridge/ 



994.] LONDON BRIDGE. 15 

" I know very well that the truth of this circumstance 
is much questioned by Master Maitland, at p. 43 of his 
4 History of London,' continued by the Rev. John En- 
tick, London, 1772, fol., vol. i. ; wherein he denies that 
any historian mentions a Bridge at London, in the 
incursion of Anlaf or Sweyn ; and asserts, that the loss 
of the army of the latter was occasioned ; by his attempt- 
ing to pass the River, without inquiring after Ford, or 
Bridge/ He affirms, too, that Stow mistakes the account 
given by William of Malmesbury ; and that the Monk 
himself distorts his original authority, in saying that the 
invaders had not a regard to the Bridge. Now if, as 
the margin of Maitland's History states, the Saxon Chro- 
nicle were that authority, the Library-keeper of Malmes- 
bury had no greater right to speak as Maitland does, 
than he had for using those words which I have already 
translated, — 4 part were destroyed in the River Thames, 
over which, in their precipitation and fury, they never 
looked for the Bridge :' for the words of the Saxon 
Chronicle, at p. 170, are, in reality, — ' And they closely 
besieged the City and would fain have set it on fire, but 
they sustained more harm and evil than they ever sup- 
posed that the Citizens could inflict on them. The Holy 
Mother of God' — for the invasion took place on her 
Nativity, Sept. 8th, — ■ ' on that day considered the 
Citizens, and ridded them of their enemies/ Here then 
is no word of a Bridge, nor, indeed, does any Historian 
record the event as William of Malmesbury does. Lam- 
barde — whom I shall quote anon, — when he relates it, 
cites the c Chronicle of Peterborough/ and the 4 Annals 
of Margan/ but neither of them has the word Bridge 
upon their pages. He, most probably, took this circum- 
stance from Marianus Scotus, a Monk of Mentz, in Ger- 
many, who wrote an extensive history of England and 
Europe, ending in 1083, but, of this, only the German 
part has been printed, although it was amazingly popular 
in manuscript. 



16 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

" We have, however, an earlier description of London 
Bridge in a state of warlike splendour, than is commonly 
imagined, or at least referred to, by most Antiquaries : 
and that too from a source of no inconsiderable authority; 
for the learned old Icelander, Snorro Sturlesonius, who 
wrote in the 13th century, and who was assassinated in 
1241, on p. 90 of that rather rare work by the Rev. 
James Johnstone, entitled, ' Antiquitates Celto-Scan- 
dicse,' Copenhagen, 1786, 4to, gives the following very 
interesting particulars of the battle of Southwark, which 
took place in the year 1008, in the unhappy reign of 
Ethelred II., surnamed the Unready. 

M ' They' — that is, the Danish forces — ' first came to shore at 
London, where their ships were to remain, and the City was taken 
by the Danes. Upon the other side of the River, is situate a 
great market called Southwark,' — Sudurvirke in the original — 
* which the Danes fortified with many defences ; framing, for 
instance, a high and broad ditch, having a pile or rampart within 
it, formed of wood, stone, and turf, with a large garrison placed 
there to strengthen it. This the King Ethelred,' — his name, you 
know, is Adalradr in the original, — ' attacked and forcibly fought 
against ; but by the resistance of the Danes it proved but a vain 
endeavour. There was, at that time, a Bridge erected over the 
River between the city and Southwark, so wide, that if two car- 
riages met they could pass each other. At the sides of the Bridge, 
at those parts which looked upon the River, were erected Ramparts 
and Castles that were defended on the top by penthouse- bulwarks 
and sheltered turrets, covering to the breasts those who were 
fighting in them : the Bridge itself was also sustained by piles 
which were fixed in the bed of the River. An attack therefore 
being made, the forces occupying the Bridge fully defended it. 
King Ethelred being thereby enraged, yet anxiously desirous of 
finding out some means by which he might gain the Bridge, at 
once assembled the Chiefs of the army to a conference on the best 
method of destroying it. Upon this, King Olaf engaged/ — for 
you will remember he was an ally of Ethelred, — * that if the 
Chiefs of the army would support him with their forces, he would 
make an attack upon it with his ships. It being ordained then in 
council that the army should be marched against the Bridge, each 
one made himself ready for a simultaneous movement both of the 
ships and of the land forces.' 

" I must here entreat your patience, Mr. Geoffrey 



1008.] LONDON BRIDGE. 17 

Barbican, to follow the old Norwegian through the con- 
sequent battle ; for although he gives us no more scenery 
of London Bridge, yet he furnishes us with a minute 
account of its destruction, and of a conflict upon it, con- 
cerning which all our own historians are, in general, re- 
markably silent. I say, too, with Falstaff, ' play out the 
play ;' for I have yet much to say on the behalf of that 
King Olaf, who, we shall find, is the patron protector of 
yonder Church at the South-East corner of London 
Bridge, since he died a Saint and a Martyr. Snorro 
Sturleson then, having cleared the way for the forcing 
of London Bridge on the behalf of King Ethelred, thus 
begins his account of the action, entitling it, in the Scan- 
dinavian tongue, Orrosta, or the fight. ' King Olaf, hav- 
ing determined on the construction of an immense scaf- 
fold, to be formed of wooden poles and osier twigs, set 
about pulling down the old houses in the neighbourhood 
for the use of the materials. With these Vinea, there- 
fore,' — as such defences were anciently termed — ' he so 
enveloped his ships, that the scaffolds extended beyond 
their sides ; and they were so well supported, as to afford 
not only a sufficient space for engaging sword in hand, 
but also a base firm enough for the play of his engines, 
in case they should be pressed upon from above. The 
Fleet, as well as the forces, being now ready, they rowed 
towards the Bridge, the tide being adverse ; but no sooner 
had they reached it than they were violently assailed from 
above with a shower of missiles and stones, of such im- 
mensity that their helmets and shields were shattered, 
and the ships themselves very seriously injured. Many 
of them, therefore, retired. But Olaf the King and his 
Norsemen having rowed their ships close up to the 
Bridge, made them fast to the piles with ropes and cables, 
with which they strained them, and the tide seconding 
their united efforts, the piles gradually gave way, and 
were withdrawn from under the Bridge. At this time, 
there was an immense pressure of stones and other wea- 

c 



18 CHRONICLES OF [a.D. 

pons, so that the piles being removed, the whole Bridge 
brake down, and involved in its fall the ruin of many. 
Numbers, however, were left to seek refuge by flight : 
some into the City, others into South wark. And now it 
was determined to attack South wark : but the Citizens 
seeing their River Thames occupied by the enemy's 
navies, so as to cut off all intercourse that way with their 
interior provinces, were seized with fear, and having sur- 
rendered the City, received Ethelred as King. In re- 
membrance of this expedition thus sang Ottar Suarti/ 

" And now, Sir, as this is, without any doubt, the first 
song which was ever made about London Bridge, I shall 
give you the Norse Bard's verses in Macpherson's Ossianic 
measure, as that into which they most readily translate 
themselves ; premising that the ensuing are of immea- 
surably greater authenticity. 

' And thou hast overthrown their Bridges, Oh thou Storm 
of the Sons of Odin ! skilful and foremost in the Battle ! 
For thee was it happily reserved to possess the land of Lon- 
don's winding City. Many were the shields which were 
grasped sword in hand, to the mighty increase of the conflict ; 
but by thee were the iron-banded coats of mail broken and 
destroyed.' 

"And c besides this,' continues Snorro, 'he also sang :' 

4 Thou, thou hast come, Defender of the Earth, and hast 
restored into his kingdom the exiled Ethelred. By thine 
aid is he advantaged, and made strong by thy valour and 
prowess.: Bitterest was that Battle in which thou didst engage. 
Now in the presence of thy kindred the adjacent lands are at 
rest, where Edmund, the relation of the country and the 
people, formerly governed.' 

" Besides this, these things are thus remembered by 
Sigvatus. 

* That was truly the sixth fight which the mighty King fought 
with the men of England : wherein King Olaf, — the Chief 
himself, a son of Odin, valiantly attacked the Bridge at Lon- 
don. Bravely did the swords of the Volsces defend it, but 
through the trench which the Sea-Kings, the men of Vikesland, 
guarded, they were enabled to come, and the plain of South- 
wark was full of his tents.' 



1008.] LONDON BRIDGE. 19 

" Such were the martial feats of King Olafus, upon 
the water ; and now let us turn to his more pious and 
peaceful actions upon the land, that caused the men of 
Southwark to found to his honour yonder fane, which 
still bears his name and consecrates his memory. And 
in so doing, I pray you to observe that I am not wander- 
ing from the subject before us ; for that Church is one 
of the Southern boundaries of London Bridge, and, as 
such, possesses some interest in its history. The other, 
on the same side, is the Monastery of St. Mary Overies, 
of the which I shall hereafter discourse ; whilst the two 
Northern ones are St. Magnus* Church, and that abode 
of festivity which rises above us, Fishmongers' Hall, of 
which the story will be best noticed when we shall have 
arrived at the time of the Great Fire. There are within 
the City walls and Diocese of London, three Churches 
dedicated to the Norwegian King and Martyr, St. Olaf ; 
and in consequence, Richard Newcourt, in his ' Reperto- 
rium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense,' which I 
shall hereafter notice, vol. i. p. 509, takes occasion to 
speak somewhat of his history ; collected, most probably, 
from Adam of Bremen's ' Historia Ecclesiarum Hambur- 
gensis et Bremensis/ He was the Son of Herald Gren- 
scius, Prince of Westfold, in Norway, and was celebrated 
for having expelled the Swedes from that country, and 
recovering Gothland. It was after these exploits that 
he came to England, and remained here as an ally of 
King Ethelred for three years, expelling the Danes from 
the Cities, Towns, and Fortresses, and ultimately return- 
ing home with great spoil. He was recalled to England 
by Emma of Normandy, the surviving Queen of his 
friend, to assist her against Knute ; but as he found a 
paction concluded between that King and the English, 
he soon withdrew, and was then created King of Norway 
by the voice of the nation. To strengthen his throne, he 
married the daughter of the King of Swedeland ; but 
now his strict adherence to the Christian faith, and his 
c2 



20 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

active zeal for the spread of it, caused him to be molested 
by domestic wars, as well as by the Danes abroad : 
though these he regarded not, since he piously and 
valiantly professed, that he had rather lose his life and 
Kingdom than his faith in Christ, Upon this, the men 
of Norway complained to Knute, King of Denmark, and 
afterwards of England, charging Olaf with altering their 
laws and customs, and entreating his assistance ; but the 
Norwegian hero was supported by a young soldier named 
Amandus, King of Swethland, who had been bred up 
under Olaf, and taught to fight by him. He, at first, 
overthrew the Dane in an engagement ; but Knute, hav- 
ing bribed the adverse fleet, procured three hundred of 
his ships to revolt, and then attacking Olaf, forced him 
to retreat into his own country, where his subjects re- 
ceived him as an enemy. He fled from the disloyal 
Pagans to Jerislaus, King of Russia, who was his brother- 
in-law, and remained with him till the better part of his 
subjects, in the commotions of the Kingdom, calling him 
to resume his crown, he went at the head of an army ; 
when, whilst one party hailed his return with joy, the 
other, urged by Knute, opposed him by force, and in a 
disloyal battle at Stichstadt, to the North of Drontheim, 
says Newcourt, p. 510, with considerable pathos, they 
c murthered this holy friend of Christ, this most inno- 
cent King, in Anno 1028,' but he should have said 1050. 
His feast is commemorated on the fourth of the Kalends 
of August, that is to say, on the 29th of July ; for Grim- 
kele, Bishop of Drontheim, his capital City, a pious 
priest whom he had brought from England to assist him 
in establishing Christianity in Norway, commanded that 
he should be honoured as a Saint, with the title of Mar- 
tyr. His body was buried in Drontheim, and was not 
only found undecayed in 1098, but even in 1541, when 
the Lutherans plundered his shrine of its gold and jewels; 
for it was esteemed the greatest treasure in the North. 
Such was St. Olave, to whose memory no less than four 



1008.] LONDON BRIDGE. 21 

Churches in London are dedicated ; for, says Newcourt, 
he ' had well deserved, and was well beloved of our 
English Nation, as well for his friendship for assisting 
them against the Danes, as for his holy and Christian 
life, by the erection of many Churches, which to his 
honourable memory they built and dedicated to him.' I 
notice only one of these, because it is contiguous to Lon- 
don Bridge, which is called St. Olave, Southwark. It 
stands, as you very well know, on the Northern side of 
Tooley Street ; and although many people would think 
St. Tooley to be somewhat of a questionable patron for a 
Church, yet I would remind you that it was only the 
more usual ancient English name of King Olave, as we 
are told on good authority, by the Rev. Alban Butler, in 
his ' Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal 
Saints,' London, 1812, 8vo, vol. vii., where, also, on pages 
378 — 380, you have many further particulars of the life 
of this heroic Prince. You may also meet with him 
under a variety of other names, as Anlaf, Unlaf, Olaf 
Haraldson, Olaus, and Olaf Helge, or Olave the Holy. 
Of his Church in Southwark I will tell you nothing as 
to its foundation, but remark only that its antiquity is 
proved by William Thorn's c Chronicle of the Acts of the 
Abbots of St. Austin's, Canterbury ;' which is printed in 
Roger Twysden's ' Historic Anglicanse Scriptores De- 
cern,' London, 1652, fol. Thorn, you may remember, 
was a Monk of St. Augustin's, in 1380 ; and on column 
1932 of the volume now referred to, he gives the copy of 
a grant from John, Earl of Warren, to Nicholas, the 
Abbot of St. Augustin s, giving to his Monastery all the 
estate which it held in ' Southwark standing upon the 
River Thames, between the Breggehouse and the Church 
of Saint Olave.' By this we know it to be ancient, for 
that grant was made in the year 1281. And now I will 
say no more of St. Olave, but that a very full and inter- 
esting memoir of him, and his miracles, is to be found in 
that gigantic work entitled the ; Acta Sanctorum,' Ant- 



22 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

werp, 1643 — 1786, 50 vols, fol., and yet incomplete, for 
the year descends to October only. See the 7th volume 
of July, pp. 87—120. 

u And now let me chaunt you his Requiem, by giving 
you, from the same authority, a free translation of the 
concluding stanza of that Latin Hymn to his memory, 
which Johannes Bosch tells us was inserted in the Swedish 
Missal, and sung on his festival ; it is in the same mea- 
sure as the original. 

' Martyr'd King 1 in triumph shining, 
Guardian Saint, whom bliss is 'shrining ; 
To thy spirit's sons inclining 
From a sinful world's confining 

By thy might, Oh set them free ! 
Carnal bonds around them 'twining, 
Fiendish arts are undermining, 
All with deadly plagues are pining, 
But thy power and prayers combining, 

Safely shall we rise to thee ! — Amen. 

u One of the last notices of London Bridge which 
occurs in the days of King Ethelred, and I place it here 
because it is without date, is in his Laws, as they are 
given in the c Chronicon' of John Brompton, Abbot of 
Jorvaulx, in the City of York, who lived about the year 
1328. His work was printed in Twysdens Scriptores 
which I last quoted ; and at col. 897, in the xxiii. Chap, 
of the Statutes there given, is the following passage. 

' ' * Concerning the Tolls given at Bylyngesgate. 
tl ' If a small ship come up to Bilynggesgate, it shall give one half- 
penny of toll : if a greater one which hath sails, one penny : if a 
small ship, or the hulk of a ship come thereto, and shall lie there, 
it shall give four pence for the toll, For ships which are filled with 
wood, one log of wood shall be given as toll. In a week of bread' 
— perhaps a festival time, c toll shall be paid for three days ; the 
Lord's day, Tuesday, and Thursday. Whoever shall come to the 
Bridge, in a boat in which there are fish, he himself being a dealer, 
shall pay one halfpenny for toll ; and if it be a larger vessel, one 
penny.' 

" Concerning Bromptons translation of these laws, 
Bishop Nicolson, in his ' English, Scotch, and Irish His- 



1016.] LONDON BRIDGE. 23 

torical Libraries/ London, 1 736, fol. p. 65, says that they 
are pretty honestly done, and given at large : but they 
may be seen with several variations and additions very 
fairly written in the collections of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, 
preserved with the Harleian MSS. in the British Mu- 
seum, No. 596. John Brompton, however, at col. 891 of 
his Chronicle, tells us one circumstance more concerning 
London Bridge before the Invasion of Knute ; for he 
says, under the year 1013, ' After this, many people were 
overthrown in the Thames, at London, not caring to go 
by the Bridge ; ' that is to say, because it had been broken 
in the two recent battles as I have already told you, ' and 
there were also erected several fortifications about the 
City.' 

" Perhaps it was the error of Sweyn in getting Ins 
Fleet foul of London Bridge, which made Knute the 
Dane, his Son, go so laboriously to work with the Thames, 
upon his Invasion in 1016 ; and I shall give you this very 
wonderful story in the words of the Saxon Chronicle, 
p. 197. ' Then came the ships to Greenwich, and, within 
a short interval, to London; where they sank a deep 
ditch on the South side, and dragged their ships to the 
West side of the Bridge. Afterwards they trenched the 
City without, so that no man could go in or out, and often 
fought against it; but the Citizens bravely withstood 
them/ There are some who doubt tins story, but honest 
William Maitland, who loved to get to the bottom of 
every thing, as he went sounding about the river for 
Caesars Ford, also set himself to discover proofs of 
Knute's Trench : and you may remember that he tells 
us, in his work which I have already cited, vol. i. p. 35, 
that this artificial water-course began at the great wet- 
dock below Rotherhithe, and passing through the Kent 
Road, continued in a crescent form to Vauxhall, and fell 
again into the Thames at the lower end of Chelsea Reach. 
The proofs of this hypothesis were great quantities of 
fascines of hazels, willows, and brushwood, pointing 



24 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

northward, and fastened down by rows of stakes, which 
were found at the digging of Rotherhithe Dock in 1694 ; 
as well as numbers of large oaken planks and piles, also 
found in other parts. 

" Florence of Worcester, who, you will recollect, 
wrote in 1101, and died in 1119, in his ' Chronicon ex 
Chronicis,' best edition, London, 1592, small 4to, p. 413 ; 
and the famous old Saxon Chronicle, p. 237 ; also both 
mention the easy passage of the rapacious Earl Godwin, 
as he passed Southwark in the year 1052. The tale is 
much the same in each, but perhaps the latter is the best 
authority, and it runs thus. ' And Godwin stationed him- 
self continually before London, with his Fleet, until he came 
to Southwark ; where he abode some time, until the flood 
came up. When he had arranged his whole expedition, 
then came the flood, and they soon weighed anchor and 
steered through the Bridge by the South side/ This 
relation is also supported by Roger Hoveden, in his An- 
nals, Part I. in * Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores post 
Bedani/ by Sir H. Savile, foL 253 b , line 41. 

" And now, worthy Mr. Barbican, before we enter 
upon the conjectures and disputes relating to the real age 
and founders of the first Wooden Bridge over the Thames 
at London, let me give you a toast, closely connected with 
it, in this last living relique of old Sir John Falstaff. You 
must know, my good Sir, that when the Church- War- 
dens and Vestry of St. Mary Overies, on the Bankside 
yonder, meet for conviviality, one of their earliest pota- 
tions is to the memory of their Church's Saint, and the 
patroness who feeds them, under the familiar name of 
4 Old Moll I ' and therefore, as we are now about to speak 
of them and their pious foundation most particularly, you 
will, I doubt not, pledge me heartily to the Immortal 
Memory of Old Moll!" 

" I very much question," returned I, " if either the 
good foundress of the Church, or she to whom it was 
dedicated, — if Mary the Saint, or Mary the Sinner, — 



1052.] LONDON BRIDGE. 25 

were ever addressed by so unceremonious an epithet in 
their lives ; but, however, as it's a parochial custom, and 
your wish, here's Prosperity to St. Saviour's Church, and 
the Immortal Memory of Old Moll V Mr. Postern 
having made a low bow of acknowledgment for my 
compliance, thus continued. 

" I have made it evident then, and indeed it is agreed 
to on all sides, that there was a Wooden Bridge over the 
Thames, at London, at least as early as the year 1052 ; 
and Maitland, at p. 44 of his History, is inclined to 
believe that it was erected between the years 993 and 
1016, at the public cost, to prevent the Danish incursions 
up the River. John Stow, however, in volume i. p. 57 
of his 6 Survey,' attributes the building of the first 
Wooden Bridge over the Thames, at London, to the 
pious Brothers of St. Mary's Monastery, on the Bankside. 
He gives you this account on the authority of Master 
Bartholomew Fowle, alias Fowler, alias Linsted, the 
last Prior of St. Mary Overies ; who, surrendering his 
Convent on the 14th of October, 1540, — in the 30th 
year of Henry VIII., — had a pension assigned him of 
iJlOO per Annum, which it is well known that he enjoyed 
until 1553. This honest gentleman you find spoken of 
in John Stevens's c Supplement to Sir William Dugdale's 
Monasticon Anglicanum,' London, 1723, fol., vol. ii. 
p. 98 ; and from him old Stow states, that, c a Ferry 
being kept in the place where now the Bridge is built, 
the Ferryman and his wife deceasing, left the said Ferry 
to their only daughter, a maiden named Mary ; which, 
with the goods left her by her parents, as also with the 
profits arising of the said Ferry, built a house of Sisters 
in the place where now standeth the East part of St. 
Mary Overies Church, above the choir, where she was 
buried, Unto the which house she gave the oversight 
and profits of the Ferry. But afterwards, the said house 
of Sisters being converted into a College of Priests, the 
Priests built the Bridge of Timber, as all the other great 



26 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Bridges of this land were, and, from time to time, kept 
the same in good reparations. Till at length, considering 
the great charges of repairing the same, there was, by 
aid of the Citizens of London, and others, a Bridge built 
with arches of stone, as shall be showed/ 

" The first who attacks this story is William Lam- 
barde, the Perambulator of Kent, in his ' Dictionarium 
Anglise Topographicum et Historicum,' London, 1730, 
4to, p. 170 ; wherein he scruples not to call Prior Fowler 
' an obscure man,' whom he charges with telling his 
narrative, c without date of time, or warrant of writing,' 
and then sums up his remarks in these words. ' As for 
the first buildinge, I leave it to eche mans libertye what 
to beleve of it ; but as for the name Auderie, I think Mr. 
Fowler mistoke it, for I finde, bothe in the Recordes of 
the Queene's Courtes and otherwise, it signifieth over 
the water, as Southrey, on the South side of the water ; 
the ignorance whereof might easily dryve Fowler — a 
man belyke unlearned in the Saxon tongue, — to some 
other invention/' 

" Maitland and Entick, at p. 44 of their History, are 
not much more believing than Lambarde, the Lawyer ; 
for they assert that the Convent of Bermondsey, founded 
by Alwin Child, a Citizen of London, in the year 1082, 
was the first religious house on the South side of the 
River, within the Bills of Mortality. The second, say 
they, speaking after Sir William Dugdale in his ' Mon- 
asticon Anglicanum,' London, 1661, fol. p. 84, 940, was 
the Priory of St. Mary Overies, founded by William 
GifFard, Bishop of Winchester, in the reign of King 
Henry I. Now Bishop Tanner, in his ' Notitia Mon- 
astics,' best edition by James Nasmith, Cambridge, 1787, 
fol. xx. Surrey,-— for you know the book is unpaged 
and arranged alphabetically under Counties, of which 
Pennant heavily complains, ^-is inclined to think that 
Stow was in the right, although he had not discovered 
any thing either in print or manuscript to support his 



1052.] LONDON BRIDGE. 27 

narrative. He is also willing to believe, that Bishop 
Giffard did not do more for St. Mary Overies, than 
rebuild the body of the Church : and, certainly, that he 
did not, in 1106, place Regular Canons there, since he 
refers to Matthew of Westminster to prove that they 
were then but newly come into England, and placed in 
that Church ; whilst Bishop Giffard was himself in exile 
until the year 1107. The c Domesday Book/ also, the 
most veritable and invaluable record of our land, thus 
hints at a Religious House in South wark ; which, as that 
Survey was made about the year 1083, was, of course, 
long anterior to the times of which 1 spake last. You 
will find the passage in Nichols' edition of the register, 
London, 1783, fol. vol. i. Sudrie, fol. 32 a, col. 1 ; and 
the words are as follow : c The same Bishop/ — that is to 
say, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, — ' has in Southwark one 
Monastery, and one Harbour. King Edward held it on 
the day he died.' — Jan. 5th, 1066 — ' Whoever had the 
Church, held it of the King. From the profits of the 
Harbour, where ships were moored, the King had two 
parts/ ' Now/ concludes the worthy Dr. Tanner, c if 
Monasterium here denote any thing more than an ordi- 
nary Church, it may be thought to mean this Religious 
House, there being no pretence for any oth%r in this 
Borough to claim to be as old as the Confessor s time, or, 
indeed, as the making of the Domesday Book, a.d. 1083/ 
Vide Sign. U u 2 ; Notes r and s. 

" Maitland, however, cannot be brought to believe in 
the foundation of a Wooden Bridge by the Brethren of 
St. Mary ; and on p. 44 of his work, already cited, he 
thus gives the reasons for his nonconformity. ' As the 
Ferry/ he commences, 6 is said to have been the chief 
support of the Priory, 'twould have been ridiculous in the 
Prior and Canons, to have sacrificed their principal de- 
pendence, to enrich themselves by a wild chimera of in- 
creasing their revenues in the execution of a project, 
which, probably, would have cost six times the sum of the 



28 CHRONICLES OF [a. D, 

intrinsic value of their whole estate ; and, when effected, 
would, in all likelihood, not have brought in so great an 
annual sum as the profits arising by the Ferry, seeing it 
may be presumed that foot-passengers would have been 
exempt from Pontage/ He next proceeds to quote a 
deed of King Henry I., which I shall produce in its 
proper order of time, exempting certain Abbey lands 
from being charged with the work of London Bridge : 
which he considers as a sufficient proof that the Priests 
of St. Mary did not preserve the erection in repair, and 
therefore, says he, ' as the latter part of this traditionary 
account is a manifest falsehood, the former is very likely 
to be of the same stamp/ He then sums up all by these 
bold words. ' As it appears that some religious founda- 
tions only were exempt from the work of this Bridge, and 
they, too, by charter, / think 'tis not to be doubted, but all 
civil bodies and incorporations were liable to contribute 
to the repairs thereof. And, consequently, that Linsted 
and his followers exceed the truth, by ascribing all the 
praise of so public a benefaction to a small House of 
Religious ; who, with greater probability, only consented 
to the building of this Bridge, upon sufficient considera- 
tions and allowances, to be made to them for the loss of 
their Ferry, by which they had been always supported/ 
Such are the objections against the attributing the build- 
ing of the First Wooden Bridge to the Monks of South- 
wark ; but we may remark, by the way, that Stow was 
a laborious and inquisitive Antiquary, who saw and in- 
quired, as well as read for himself, and, in all probability, 
had both seen and conversed with Prior Fowle ; whilst 
Maitland and Entick were often contented to write in 
their libraries from the works of others, and speak of 
places with which they were but very slightly acquainted. 
We may add too, that, as the Priests of St. Mary were 
Regular Canons of St. Austin, by their rule they were 
not permitted to be wealthy, but were to sell the whole 
of their property, give to the poor, have all things in 



1052.] LONDON BRIDGE. 29 

common, and never be unemployed. I know very well, 
that in opposition to Stow's account of Mary Audery's 
foundation, you may bring forward that assertion made 
in Stevens's ; Sup. to Dugdale,' which I have already 
cited, vol. ii. p. 97 ; wherein she is called ' a noble 
woman,' and, consequently, could not be the Ferryman's 
daughter. But of this let me observe, that the authority 
of Stow's ' Survey,' given in the margin, is misquoted ; 
for although it is certain that the action itself was suffi- 
ciently noble, yet the old Citizen never calls her other 
than ' a Maiden named Mary.' You may see the place 
to which Stevens refers, in Strype's edition of the ' Survey,' 
vol. ii. p. 10 ; and let me remark 
now, before I quit the history of St. 
Mary Overies, as connected with 
that of London Bridge, that there 
is yet extant there, a monumental 
effigy conveying the strongest lesson 
of man's mortality ; it being the re- 
semblance of a body in that state, 
when corruption is beginning its great 
triumph. Prating Vergers and Sex- 
tons commonly tell you, that the 
persons whom these figures represent, 
endeavoured to fast the whole of 
Lent, in imitation of the great Chris- 
tian Pattern, and that dying in the 
act, they were reduced to such a 
cadaverous appearance at their de- 
cease. There has, however, been a 
new legend invented for this sculp- 
ture, as it is commonly reported to 
be that of Audery, the Ferryman, 
father of the foundress of St. Mary 
Overies. It was formerly placed on 
the ground, under the North window of the Bishop's 
Court, which, before the present repairs, stood at the 




30 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

North-east corner of the Chapel of the Virgin Mary. 
Where it will be removed to hereafter, time only can 
unfold, for, as yet, even the Churchwardens themselves 
know not. 

" In speaking of this person's tomb, I must not, how- 
ever, omit to notice, that there is a singularly curious, 
although, probably, fabulous tract of thirty pages, of his 
life, the title of which I shall give you at length. ' The 
True History of the Life and sudden Death of old John 
Overs, the rich Ferry-Man of London, shewing, how he 
lost his life, by his own covetousness. And of his daughter 
Mary, who caused the Church of St. Mary Overs in 
Southwark to be built ; and of the building of London 
Bridge/ There are two editions of this book, the first of 
which was published in 12mo in 1637, and a reprint of 
it in 8vo, which, though it be shorn of the woodcuts 
that decorated the ' Editio Princeps,' is, perhaps, the 
most interesting to us, inasmuch as it bears this curious 
imprint — ' London, Printed for T. Harris at the Looking - 
Glass, on London Bridge : and sold by C. Corbet at 
Addison's Head, in Fleet-street, 1744. Price six pence/ 
You may see this work in Sir W. Musgrave's Biographical 
Tracts in the British Museum ; its first nine pages are 
occupied with .a definition and exhortation against covet- 
ousness, in the best Puritanic style of the seventeenth 
century ; and then, on p. 10, the history opens thus : — 
' Before there was any Bridge at all built over the 
Thames, there was only a Ferry, to which divers boats 
belonged, to transport all passengers betwixt Southwark 
and Churchyard Alley, that being the high-road way 
betwixt Middlesex, and Sussex, and London. This 
Ferry was rented of the City, by one John Overs, which 
he enjoyed for many years together, to his great profit ; 
for it is to be imagined, that no small benefit could arise 
from the ferrying over footmen, horsemen, all manner of 
cattle, all market folks that came with provisions to the 
City, strangers and others/ 



1052.] LONDON BRIDGE. 31 

" Overs, however, though he kept several servants 
and apprentices, was of so covetous a soul, that notwith- 
standing he possessed an estate equal to that of the best 
Alderman in London, acquired by unceasing labour, 
frugality, and usury, yet his habit and dwelling were 
both strongly expressive of the most miserable poverty. 
He had, as we have already seen, an only daughter, ' of 
a beautiful aspect,' says the tract, ; and a pious disposi- 
tion ; whom he had care to see well and liberally edu- 
cated, though at the cheapest rate ; and yet so, that 
when she grew ripe and mature for marriage, he would 
suffer no man of what condition or quality soever, by his 
good will, to have any sight of her, much less access 
unto her/ A young gallant, however, who seems to 
have thought more of being the Waterman s heir than 
his son-in-law, took the opportunity, whilst he was 
engaged at the Ferry, to be admitted into her company; 
c the first interview,' says the story, 6 pleased well ; the 
second better; but the third concluded the match between 
them. — In all this interim, the poor silly rich old Ferry- 
man, not dreaming of any such passages, but thinking 
all things to be as secure by land as he knew they were 
by water,' Continued his former wretched and penurious 
course of life. From the disgusting instances which are 
given of this caitiff's avarice, he would seem to have been 
the very prototype and model of Elwes and Dancer; 
and, as the title-page of the book sets forth, even his 
death was the effect of his covetousness. To save the 
expense of one day's food in his family, he formed a 
scheme to feign himself dead for twenty-four hours ; in 
the vain expectation that his servants would, out of 
propriety, fast until after his funeral. Having procured 
his daughter to consent to this plan, even against her 
better nature, he was put into a sheet, and stretched out 
in his chamber, having one taper burning at his head, 
and another at his feet, according to the custom of the 
time. When, however, his servants were informed of 



32 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

his decease, instead of lamenting, they were overjoyed; 
and, having danced round the body, they brake open his 
larder, and fell to banqueting. The Ferryman bore all 
this as long, and as much like a dead man, as he was 
able ; ' but, when he could endure it no longer,' says the 
tract, ' stirring and struggling in his sheet, like a ghost, 
with a candle in each hand, he purposed to rise up, and 
rate 'em for their ^sauciness and boldness ; when one of 
them thinking that the Devil was about to rise in his 
likeness, being in a great amaze, catched hold of the 
butt- end of a broken oar, which was in the chamber, 
and, being a sturdy knave, thinking to kill the Devil at 
the first blow, actually struck out his brains.' It is 
added, that the servant was acquitted, and the Ferryman 
made accessary and cause of his own death. The estate 
of Overs then fell to his daughter, and her lover hearing 
of it, hastened up from the country; but, in riding post, 
his horse stumbled, and he brake his neck on the high- 
way. The young heiress was almost distracted at these 
events, and was recalled to her faculties only by having 
to [provide for her father's interment ; for he was not 
permitted to have Christian burial, being considered as 
an excommunicated man, on account of his extortions, 
usury, and truly miserable life. The Friars of Ber- 
mondsey Abbey were, however, prevailed upon, by 
money, their Abbot being then away, to give a little 
earth to the remains of the wretched Ferryman. But 
upon the Abbot's return, observing a grave which had 
been but recently covered in, and learning who lay there, 
he was not only angry with his Monks for having done 
such an injury to the Church, for the sake of gain, but 
he also had the body taken up again, laid on the back of 
his own Ass, and, turning the animal out at the Abbey 
gates, desired of God that he might carry him to some 
place where he best deserved to be buried. The Ass 
proceeded with a gentle and solemn pace through Kent 
Street, and along the highway, to the small pond once 



1052.] LONDON BRIDGE, S3 

called St. Thomas a Waterings, then the common place 
of execution, and shook off the Ferryman's hody directly 
under the gibbet, where it was put into the ground, 
without any kind of ceremony. Mary Overs, extremely 
distressed by such a succession of sorrows, and desirous 
to be free from the importunity of the numerous suitors 
for her hand and fortune, resolved to retire into a cloister; 
which she shortly afterwards did, having first provided 
for the foundation of that Church which still com- 
memorates her name. 

" Such is the story related by this tract ; and, if it 
were possible, one might suppose, that the pious maiden, 
out of her filial love, had placed that effigy in her fane, 
which I before mentioned to be sculptured in memory of 
her father; since it would, by no means, improperly 
represent the cadaverous features of the old Waterman. 
The figure, itself, is of the third form of the classes of 
Sepulchral Monuments, invented by Maurice Johnson, 
Esq., — namely, tables with effigies or sculptures, — and 
the last of the arrangement adopted by Smart Lethullier, 
Esq., that is to say, — the representation of a skeleton in 
a shroud, lying either under, or on, a table tomb. 
Richard Gough, you know, in his c Sepulchral Monu- 
ments/ London, 1786-96, fol. vol. i., part 1, Introduction, 
p. cxi. where you will find all these particulars, attributes 
most of these figures to the fifteenth century, and Audery 
certainly died very long before the time of William I. 
However this may be, as I am laying before you all the 
illustrations of Bridge history, both authentic and tradi- 
tional, which are now to be found, I must not omit to 
add, that the supposed effigy of Audery is six feet eight 
inches in length ; and represents his decayed body lying 
in its winding-sheet. His hair is turned up hi a roll 
above his head, though in the ' History of South wark/ 
by M. Concannen, Junior, and A. Morgan, Deptford, 
1795, 8vo, p. 101, Note, he is erroneously stated to have 

D 



34 CHRONICLES OP [a. I>. 

4 a shorn crown/ and is, therefore, supposed to represent 
Linsted, the last Prior of St. Mary's. 

" Captain Francis Grose has inserted this figure, not 
very respectably engraven, in his c Antiquities of England 
and Wales/ London, 1773-87, royal quarto, six volumes, 
in the Addenda attached to vol. iv., plate iii. ; and he 
observes, on p. 36, that 'it is a skeleton-like figure, of 
which the usual story is told, that the person thereby 
represented attempted to fast forty days, in imitation of 
Christ,' as he remarks on the preceding page, but died 
in the attempt, having first reduced himself to that 
appearance. The best engraving of this effigy was 
published in ' Mr. J. T. Smith's Antiquities of London 
and its Environs,' London, 1791, 4to. 

" Be this figure, however, who it may, the Waterman 
or the Priest, his tomb has outlived both his name and 
his dust. Whether he only carried passengers over the % 
River Thames, or was occupied in teaching them how 
to cross that last fatal River, — which John Bunyan 
quaintly tells you hath no Bridge,—' after life's fitful 
fever he sleeps well,' — 

" Aye, and so shall I soon," cried I, stretching myself, 
and interrupting Mr. Postern ; Ci let him rest in peace, 
my good Sir, and come out of Church now ; for, truly, 
it's high time to close your Sermon, and let us hear 
somewhat about a river which hath a Bridge, that was 
once the wonder of the world." 

" I thank you," replied my narrator, " I thank you, 
Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, for recalling me to the subject of 
our conversation ; for this is the very point at which I 
would proceed with my history. You know, Sir," 
continued he, in a much brisker tone, " I have already 
observed to you, that the First Wooden Bridge was 
erected much farther to the East than yonder stone 
bulwark ; for when King William I. granted a Charter 
to the foundation of St. Peter's Abbey, at West- Minster, 
in the second year of his reign, a. d. 1067, he confirmed 



1067.] LONDON BRIDGE. 35 

to the Monks serving God in that place, a Gate in London, 
then called Butolph's Gate, with a Wharf which stood 
at the head of London Bridge. This has ever heen 
received as a well-established fact ; for Stow relates it 
in his ' Survey/ vol. i. pp. 22 and 58; and Mr. John 
Dart, in his ' History and Antiquities of the Abbey 
Church of St. Peter, Westminster/ London, 1723, fol. 
vol. i. p. 20, supports it, in his List of Benefactors to 
the Abbev, in the time of King Edward the Confessor. 

u The record is also given at length, by Stow, in 
English ; but you may see it in the original Latin, in a 
curious Manuscript in the Cotton Library, marked 
Faustina^ A. iii., which is entitled, ' A Registry of the 
Regal and Pontifical Charters, Privileges, Agreements, 
and Covenants, of the Bishops and Abbots of the Church 
of the blessed Peter of Westminster ; many whereof are 
Saxon ones, written in the Norman- Saxon characters/ 
This volume is a little stout quarto, written in a small 
fair Church text, on parchment, adorned with many 
vermilion initial letters, and rubrics, or heads of chapters. 
The Charter to which I have now referred you, chapter 
xliv., is the last but one in the reign of King William I., 
folio 63 b, of the modern pagination; and, put into 
English, is as follows : — 

Cii Concerning the lands of Almodus, of St. Butolph's Gate, 
and of the Wharf at the head of London Bridge. 

" * William, King of England, to the Sheriffs and all Ministers, 
as also, to his faithful suhjects of London, French and English, 
greeting : Know ye, that I have granted unto God and to St. Peter 
of Westminster, and to the Abbot Vitalis, the House which Almo- 
dus, of the Gate of St. Botolph, gave to them when he was made a 
Monk ; that is to say, his Lord's Court, with his Houses, and one 
Wharf which is at the head of London Bridge, and others of his 
lands in the same City, like as King Edward more fully and bene- 
ficially granted them : and I will and command that they shall 
enjoy the same well and quietly, and honourably, with sake and 
soke, and shall hold all the customs and laws of the aforesaid. 
And 1 defend them that none shall do them any injury. Witness, 
Walkeline, Bishop of Winchester, and William, Bishop of Durham, 
and R., Earl of Mell., and Hugh, Earl of Warwick.' 
d2 



36 CHRONICLES OF [a. 0. 

" And now let me remark that, by this we are in- 
formed that the City end of the Bridge was not anciently 
the foot of it, which is asserted by the evidence of 
Richard Newcourt, in his ' Ecclesiastical History of the 
Diocess of London,' London, 1708-10, fol., vol. i. p. 396, 
where he says, that ■ St. Magnus' Church is sometimes 
called, in Latin, the Church of St. Magnus the Martyr, 
in the City of London, near the foot, or at the foot, of 
London Bridge/ 

" This First Wooden Bridge, however, was not fated 
to stand long ; for, on the sixteenth of November, the 
feast of St. Edmund the Archbishop, in the year 1091, 
• at the hour of six, a dreadful whirlwind from the South- 
East, coming from Africa, blew upon the City, and over- 
threw upwards of six hundred houses, several Churches, 
greatly damaged the Tower, and tore away the roof and 
part of the wall of the Church of St. Mary le Bow, in 
Cheapside. The roof was carried to a considerable dis- 
tance, and fell with such force, that several of the rafters, 
being about twenty-eight feet in length, pierced upwards 
of twenty feet into the ground, and remained in the same 
position as when they stood in the Chapel/ 

" The best accounts of this terrible event are to be 
found in the ' Chronicle ' of Florence of Worcester, 
p. 457, which was literally copied into the c Annales' of 
Roger de Hoveden, Chaplain to King Henry II., printed 
in the e Scriptores post Bedam,' already cited, p. 462 ; — 
in William of Malmesbury, p. 125 ; — and in the 4 Chro- 
nicle' of John of Brompton, which I have also before 
quoted, p. 987. 

" During the same storm, too, the water in the 
Thames rushed along with such rapidity, and increased 
so violently, that London Bridge was entirely swept 
away ; whilst the lands on each side were overflowed 
for a considerable distance. I cannot help observing how 
slightly, and erroneously, the ' Annals of Waverley* 
notice this most dreadful devastation ; for at p. 137, of 



1091 V] LONDON BRIDGE. 37 

the best edition by Dr. Thomas Gale, vol. ii. of his 
c Historiae Anglicanse Scriptores xv/ Oxford, 1691, fol., 
they merely state that 6 a vehement wind struck down 
London the 6th of the kalends of November,' — that is 
to say, on the 27th of October,—' at the hour of six ! ' 
I doubt not but the truth was, that the good Monks 
of Waverley Abbey in Surrey felt nothing of this ventus 
vehemens themselves, and therefore gave a much more 
trivial record of it, than if it had shaken but a single 
bell in the turrets of their own Cenobium. The 4 Annals 
of Waverley,' you know, were, down to about 1120, 
almost a translation from the 4 Saxon Chronicle/ exe- 
cuted in the twelfth century. The following year, 1092, 
the sixth of the reign of William Rufus, was marked by 
a season fatal to bridges in general ; although there is 
no mention that ours at London participated in the 
destruction. This fact is related by William of Malmes- 
bury, p. 125, and by Roger de Hoveden, p. 464, in these 
words : — ' Also, in his sixth year, there was such an 
excessive rain, and such high floods, the rivers over- 
flowing the low grounds that lay near them, as the like 
was remembered by none. And afterward, in the winter, 
ensued a sudden frost ; whereby the great streams were 
congealed in such a manner that they could draw two 
hundred horsemen and carriages over them ; whilst at 
their thawing, many bridges, both of wood and stone, 
were borne down, and divers water mills w T ere broken up 
and carried away ! ' 

" Frequent destructions by fire seem, also, to have been 
a very general fate of all our ancient buildings ; for, in 
1093, the wooden houses and straw roofs of the London 
Citizens were again in flames, and a great part of the City 
was thus destroyed. 

" Too soon after this calamity, at a most inauspicious 
time for commencing, or executing, expensive public 
works, in 1097, King William Rufus imposed a heavy 
tax upon his subjects for the re-building of London 



38 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Bridge,— though that might very well be defended, — 
the erecting of the palace of West- Minster Hall, and 
the construction of a wall round the Tower. The 6 Saxon 
Chronicle' speaks of these ill-advised undertakings in the 
blended tones of sorrow and of anger. * This was, hi all 
things,' says that faithful old history, at pages 316, 317, 
4 a very heavy- timed year, and beyond measure laborious 
from the badness of the weather, both when men at- 
tempted to till the land, and, afterwards, to gather the 
fruits of their tilth ; and from unjust contributions they 
never rested. Many counties also, that were confined to 
London by work, were grievously oppressed, on account 
of the wall that was building about the Tower, and the 
Bridge that was nearly all afloat , and the King's Hall 
that they were building at West- Minster ; and many 
men perished thereby/ 

" Our brave old River of Thames itself, however, is 
of the same changeful nature as Luna, the mistress of his 
tides ; for, if at one time, he overflows his banks, blows 
up his Bridge, or drowns an invading army, by the fury 
of his waves; at another season he contracts his waters 
into their narrowest channel, or draws them back into 
his urn, without leaving enough to float a wherry over 
his bed. Of this I shall give you several instances, as 
we get lower down the stream of time ; and now only 
remark, in chronological order, that on the 6th of the 
Ides of October, videlicet the 10th, in the 15th Year of 
the reign of Henry I. 1114, the River was so dried up, 
and there was such want of water, that between the 
Tower of London and the Bridge, and even under it, 
' a great number of men, women, and children,' — says 
Stow, in his c Survey,' vol. i. p. 58, — ' did wade over 
both on horse and foot,' the water coming up to their 
knees. 

" The original account of this is to be found in the 
c Annales' of Roger de Hoveden, p. 473; from whom we 
derive the additional information, that this defect of 



1122.] LONDON BRIDGE. 39 

water commenced in the middle of the night preceding, 
and lasted until the darkest part of the next. The same 
historian, also, records, on the same page, that in the year 
1115, the winter was so severe, that all throughout Eng- 
land the Bridges were broken by the ice. 

" But although London Bridge was an edifice to which 
there was a continual and heavy cost attached, yet its 
possessions were, even anciently, very extensive ; for you 
find that so early as in the 23rd year of Henry I., a. d. 
1122, Thomas de Ardern, and Thomas his son, gave to 
the Monks of Bermondsey, and the Church of St. George 
in Southwark, the tenth of his Lord's corn lands in 
Horndon, and the immense sum of Five Shillings per 
annum rent, out of the Lands pertaining to London 
Bridge. Calculate this, my good Sir, at twenty times 
its present value ; for we know that in the Great Charter 
of King John, Chapter II., a knight paid but five pounds 
to the King as a Relief when he came to his estate ; and 
that, Lord Coke tells you in his Second Institute, even 
several years later, was the fourth part of his annual 
income. Remember, too, that sixpence by the week 
was then a living stipend to an ordinary labourer ; that 
the Black Book of the Exchequer — which was written 
about the reign of Henry I. — ordains that a tenant shall 
pay one shilling to the King, instead of providing bread 
for one hundred soldiers for one meal ; that the pro- 
vender of twenty horses for one night, also to be paid by 
a tenant, was commuted for four pence; that in 1185, 
the tenants of Shireburn paid by custom two pence, or 
four hens, which they would ; and, lastly, recollect, that 
in 1125, — called, by Robert de Monte, the dearest year 
ever known, — a horseload of wheat was sold but for six 
shillings : in ordinary times, as in 1043, it was sixpence 
the quarter. Of all this you may see most abundant 
and curious proof, in Bishop Fleetwood's * Chronicon 
Preciosum,' London, 1745, 8vo, pages 55, 56 ; and there- 
fore the gift of Thomas de Ardern was munificent. 



40 CHRONICLES OF [a. V, 

" I should observe that Stow obtained the knowledge 
of this donation from the manuscript ' Annals of Ber- 
mondsey Priory/ which are now preserved in the Har- 
leian Library in the British Museum, No. 231, very 
fairly written in a good legible black text upon vellum ; 
having vermilion rubrics of the King's reign, and the 
date of the year. It is a rather small quarto volume, of 
71 written leaves, delicately paged by some later hand ; 
and the passage occurs on the reverse of fol. 11. The 
Harleian Catalogue calls it, in Latin, ' the Annals of the 
Abbey of St. Saviours of Bermondesie, from the year of 
our Lord 1042 5 down to the year of our Lord 1433 ; in 
which, beside the public affairs of each reign,' — told in 
the words of other Chronicles — 4 many things are narrated 
which belong to the history of the same Abbey.' 

" You have already seen that London Bridge was a 
public work, to which all England furnished some 
labourers ; but, as I mentioned some time back, Mait- 
land, in his ' History of London/ vol. i. p. 44, notices a 
deed cited by Stow, exempting the lands of Battle Abbey, 
in Sussex. This was granted by King Henry I., but is 
perhaps now lost, for it remains wholly unnoticed by the 
learned Editors of the new edition of Dugdale's c Mon- 
asticon ;' and I must therefore give it you in the very 
words of the old Antiquary himself, who says, p. 58, that 
in his time it remained, with the seal very fair, in the 
custody of Joseph Holland, Esq. ; it is as follows : — 

" t Henry, King of England, to Ralph, Bishop of Chichester, and 
all the Officers of Sussex, sendeth greeting. Know ye &c. I com- 
mand by my kingly authority, that the manor called Alceston, 
which my father gave with other lands to the Abbey of Battle, be 
free and quiet from shires and hundreds, and all other customs of 
earthly servitude, as my father held the same, most freely and 
quietly ; and namely, from the work of London Bridge, and the 
work of the castle at Pevensey : and this I command upon my 
forfeiture. Witness, William Pont de l'Arche, at Berry.' 

" The second year of the succeeding King, however, 
namely Stephen, saw London Bridge in a state to require 



1136.] LONDON BRIDGE. 41 

the exertions of all England to raise it : for, in 1136, a 
fire broke out in the dwelling of one Aileward, near 
London Stone, that consumed Eastward as far as Aid- 
gate ; and to the Shrine of St, Erkenwald, in St. Paul's 
Cathedral, to the West. On the Southern side of Lon- 
don the Wooden Bridge over the Thames was destroyed, 
but was soon after repaired, since Stephanides, whose 
description of London was written between 1170 and 1182, 
speaks of it as affording a convenient etanding-place to the 
spectators of the Citizens' Water Tournaments. I shall 
give you the whole passage, because it describes a very 
curious sport of the twelfth century, which was cele- 
brated in the immediate vicinity of this very spot ; and 
the account is at p. 76, beginning £ In ferns Paschalibus ; 
we ? ll content ourselves, however, with Dr. Pegge's trans- 
lation of it, which runs thus. 

" ; At Easter, the diversion is prosecuted on the water; 
a target is strongly fastened to a trunk or mast, fixed in 
the middle of the River, and a youngster standing upright 
in the stern of a boat, made to move as fast as the oars 
and current can carry it, is to strike the target with his 
lance ; and if in hitting it he break his lance, and keep 
his place in the boat, he gains Ins point, and triumphs ; 
but if it happen that the lance be not shivered by the 
force of the blow, he is of course tumbled into the water, 
and away goes his vessel without him. However, a 
couple of beats full of young men is placed, one on each 
side of the target, so as to be ready to take up the unsuc- 
cessful adventurer, the moment he emerges from the 
stream, and comes fairly to the surface. The Bridge, 
and the balconies on the banks, are filled with spectators, 
whose business it is to laugh/ 

u Of this singular sport, Joseph Strutt copied in his 
6 Sports and Pastimes of the People of England,' London^ 
1801, 4to, p. 92, pi. x. a very curious illumination, con- 
tained in a volume of the Royal Manuscripts in the 
British Museum, — 2 B. vii. — which consists of a history 



42 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

of the Old Testament, the Psalter, the Hymns of the 
Church, and a Calendar ; all richly painted in water- 
colours, and beautified with gold, — 4 yellow, glittering, 
precious gold/ — so highly embossed, as to be ' sensible to 
feeling as to sight/ 

" That volume brings back old days to my recollection, 
whenever I behold it ; for, in the year 1553, it belonged 
to Queen Mary of England, and is bound in a truly regal 
style for her ; being in thick boards covered with crimson 
velvet, richly embroidered with large flowers in coloured 
silks and gold twist; besides being garnished with gilt 
brass bosses and clasps, on the latter of which are engraven 
the Royal devices and supporters. Another, and more 
pleasing proof of its having been hers, — inasmuch as it 
records a good action of a London Citizen concerned with 
the affairs of this brave river, — is to be found in a Latin 
note written in a beautiful black text hand, on the reverse 
of the last leaf of the volume. ' This Book/ it states, 
formerly a gift, was afterwards carried away by a sailor ; 
c but that excellent and honest person, Baldwin Smith, 
Receiver of the Customs of the Port of London, hath 
restored and given it unto the most illustrious Mary, 
Queen of England, France, and Ireland, in the month of 
October, in the year of our Lord 1553, in the first year 
of her reign/ The text of this volume is said to have 
been written, and the illuminations executed, in the 
fourteenth century, though^ from their style, I cannot 
help thinking that the period is nearly a hundred years 
too late ; for beneath the pages of the Psalter is a series 
of most interesting and excellent drawings, in pen-and-ink 
outlines, very slightly and delicately tinted with colours, 
which was certainly a far more ancient custom. How- 
ever that may be, this series consists c de omnibus rebus, 
et quibusdam aliis* for there are the representations of 
animals and birds, field sports, games, legends, martyr- 
doms, battles, and fables, of an almost infinite variety; 
and in the course of them occur the figures of a water- 



1136.] LONDON BRIDGE. 43 

quintain, both as it is described by Fitzstephen, and also 
of a more warlike character. The first of these was 
engraved by Strutt in the work which I have before 
referred to, and gives a very perfect idea of the River 
Tilting of the Twelfth Century, which the illu- 




minator had, no doubt, personally witnessed in his own 
time. The other, which has also been engraven in the 
same work, p. 113, pi. xv. shows two armed knights 
getting ' grysly together,' as the ' Morte d'Arthur' calls 




it, in boats ; and you will find it under the 60th Psalm, 
' Dominus repulisti nosj &c. 

" Stow, in his c Survey,' vol. L p. 301, mentions a very 
rude imitation of this kind of jousting on the water at 
London ; when he says, ' I have seen also in the summer 
season, upon the River of Thames, some rowed in 
wherries, with staves in their hands, flat at the fore- end, 
running one against another, and, for the most part, one 
or both of them were overthrown and well ducked/ In 
Queen Mary's Manuscript, under the psalm of ; Miseri- 
cordiam et judicium cantabo,' is also a representation of 
two fiends hurling a Monk from a rude stone Bridge ; 



44 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

but as I rather think that did not occur at London, I 
mention it no farther. 

" But now, to return to our subject : — Stow relates 
his particulars of the great fire of 1135-36, at p. 58 of his 
' Survey,' citing in the margin the ' Annals of Bermond- 
sey,' and the ; Book of Trinity Priory/ as his authorities. 
The latter of these is, perhaps, now no more ; but in the 
former you may find the conflagration mentioned at p. 
13 b, where it is said to have happened in the year 1135, 
and to have extended to the Church of St. Clement 
Danes. It was probably in the Register of Trinity - 
Priory, that Stow found a notice that London Bridge was 
not only repaired, but a new one erected of elm timber, 
in 1163, by the most excellent Peter of Colechurch, 
Priest and Chaplain ; since I find it in none of the his- 
torians with whom I am acquainted. It is, however, 
much better authenticated that the same pious architect 
began his labours upon the first stone one in 1176 ; for, 
in the 6 Annals of Waverley,' at p. 161, you find the fol- 
lowing entry.—' 1176. In this year, the Stone Bridge 
at London is begun by Peter, the Chaplain of Colechurch/ 
Here, therefore, ends the history of the infancy of Lon- 
don Bridge : and a very chargeful infancy it was, for, as 
old Stow says, ' it was maintained partly by the proper 
lands thereof, partly by the liberality of divers persons, 
and partly by taxations in divers shires, as I have proved, 
for the space of 215 years/ — And now, Mr. Geoffrey 
Barbican, your very good health." 

" Sir, my hearty thanks to you," replied I, rubbing 
my eyes, " for this Bridge Story is as dull as proving a 
Peerage, where there's no reliance, and much doubting: — 
but how's this, Master Postern!" continued I, looking 
into the tankard, "you have drunk, and I have drunk, 
and yet the jug is as full as ever, and as hot as it was at 
first?" 

" You're pleased to be facetious, good Sir," answered 
my visitor, " for truly I'm no Saint Richard to work such 



1176.] LONDON BRIDGE. 45 

miracles ; but, if you please, we'll now return to the 
Bridge again. 

" We are here entering upon the golden age of London 
Bridge, for the new stone building, by Peter of Cole- 
church, was such an ornament as the Thames had never 
before witnessed ; indeed, in my poor judgment, it very 
far surpassed that erection, of which I shall hereafter 
have occasion to speak ; and perhaps, for its time, even 
that which now stretches itself across the flood. The 
person to whom was intrusted the building of the first 
- stone Bridge at London, was, as I have already told you, 
named Peter, a Priest and Chaplain of St. Mary Cole- 
church ; an edifice, which, until the Great Fire of London, 
stood on the North side of the Poultry, at the South end 
of a turning denominated Conyhoop Lane,, from a Poul- 
terer s shop having the sign of three Conies hanging over 
it. This Chapel, of which the skilful Peter was Curate, 
was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and was famous as 
the place where St. Edmund and St. Thomas a Beckett 
were presented at the baptismal Font ; still it must have 
been something very like having a church on a first floor, 
for you may remember Stow says, in his ' Survey,' vol. i. 
p. 552, that it was ' built upon a vault above ground, so 
that men are forced to ascend into it by certain steps/ 
Of the architectural knowledge of the Curate thereof, I 
have already showed you that the Citizens of London 
had experienced some proofs, since he is said to have 
rebuilt their last wooden Bridge : and John Leland the 
Antiquary — whom 1 shall anon quote more particularly, 
— observes, in the notes to his famous ! Song of the 
Swan,' — a book of which I will also speak hereafter. — 
that Radulphus de Diceto, Dean of London, who wrote 
about 1210, states from his own knowledge, that he was 
a native of this City. The same venerable Antiquary 
also tells us in his c Itinerary,' edited by Thomas Hearne, 
Oxford, 1768-69, 8vo, vol. vii. pt. I. marginal fol. 22, p. 12, 
— that c a Mason, beinge Master of the Bridge Howse, 



46 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

buildyd a fundamentis the Chapell on London Bridge, a 
fundamentis propriis impensis ; ' or, as we should now 
say, from bottom to top, at his own costs and charges. 
The property of Peter of Colechurch, however, would not 
stand Bridge-building by itself; and therefore the present 
will be the most fitting place to give you some account 
of the other contributors to this great national work. 

" Master Leland, in the same place which I last quoted, 
observes that ' a Cardinale, and Archepisshope of Cantor- 
byri, gave 1000 Markes or li, to the erectynge of London 
Bridge/ Now, the Cardinal who is here alluded to, was 
Hugo, Hugocio, or Huguzen di Petraleone, a Roman, 
Cardinal Deacon of St. Angelo, whom Pope Alexander 
III. sent, in 1176, to France, Scotland, and England, 
as his Legate ; which you may find stated in Alphonso 
Ciaconio's noble book, entitled 'Vitse et Res Gestae 
Pontificum Romanorum, et Sanctse Romanse Ecclesige 
Cardinalium/ Rome, printed with the Vatican types, in 
1630, fol. p. 57B, a work of about 3000 pages in extent ; 
of an enormous size, fairly bound in embossed vellum, 
and adorned with a prodigious number of copper-plates 
and woodcut Armorial Ensigns ; by the latter of which 
we are shown, that this foreign contributor to the 
building of London Bridge bore for his arms, Quarterly, 
Argent and Gules, and over all, in the centre point, a 
sieve of the first. Whilst the Cardinal resided in Eng- 
land, he took some notice of the dispute which was then 
going on concerning the Primacy, between the Arch- 
bishops of Canterbury and York : when at a meeting 
held at Westminster, Roger de Ponte, the turbulent 
possessor of the latter see, arrogantly took his seat at the 
Cardinal's right hand. Upon which the domestics of 
Richard, the mild and amiable Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, took him thence by force, and in the ensuing 
scuffle he was beaten, and turned out of the assembly, 
with his episcopal robes sadly rent. Now this Richard 
was a Benedictine monk, and Prior of the monastery of 



1077.] LONDON BRIDGE. 47 

St. Martin's, Dover; who was elected to the See of 
Canterbury on the death of Thomas a Beckett, in 1174. 
; He was a man/ says Bishop Godwin, when writing his 
memoirs, ; very liberal, gentle, and passing wise ; * and, 
what gives him great honour in my sight, he was the very 
Prelate whom Leland mentions in the passage I quoted, 
as subscribing so nobly to the foundation of London 
Bridge. And yet, 'tis strange, that only in his 4 Itine- 
rary,' and in Stow's ' Survey,' vol. i. p. 58, is this dona- 
tion recorded ; for even in the best and most splendid 
edition of Bishop Godwin's volume, c De Prsesulibus 
Angliee Commentarius,' by William Richardson, Canon 
of Lincoln, Cambridge, 1743, fol. p. 79, the old Citizen 
is referred to at note ?/, as his authority for the fact. I 
cannot omit now giving you the blazon of this Prelate's 
own arms, as they appear in that noble illuminated copy 
of Archbishop Parker's work, ; De Antiquitate et Privi- 
leges Ecclesiae Cantuariensis cum Archiepiscopis ejusdem 
70,' Lambeth, 1572, fol. p. 123, which is estimated to be 
fully worth its weight in gold. This truly valuable 
volume was presented by our late good King George the 
Third to the British Museum, and formerly belonged to 
Queen Elizabeth. The arms, however, were Azure, 
three Mullets in bend, between two Cottises Argent ; 
and whenever you turn to this volume, on which the 
ancient Art of Illuminating shed its latest rays, I pray 
you fail not carefully to inspect it : for you will find it a 
copy of that edition printed at his own palace by John 
Day ; with many leaves impressed on vellum, and the 
whole of the book carefully ruled with red-ink lines, the 
initials coloured and gilded, and all the Armorial Ensigns, 
with the Frontispiece, excellently well emblazoned. And 
I pray you also, forget not well to note the binding ; 
since a richer or more fancifully embroidered covering 
there are few tomes which can exhibit. The ground of 
it is green velvet, intended to represent the vert of a 
park, and it is surrounded by a broad border of pales 



48 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

with a gate, worked in brown silk and gold twist ; whilst 
within are trees, flowers, shrubs, tufts of grass, serpents, 
hinds, and does, all executed in richly coloured silks, 
and gold and silver wire. At the back are the Queen's 
badges of red and white roses ; the edges of the leaves 
are gilt, and the volume was once secured by ribbons of 
crimson silk. 

" Of this most splendid book I must, indeed, yet add 
another word, that it may be estimated as it so well 
deserves. Dr. Ducarel, in his account of that astonishing 
copy of it which is deposited in the Archiepiscopal 
Palace at Lambeth, says, ' It was first printed at Lam- 
beth by John Daye in 1572; and so small a number 
were then published, that, except this complete copy, 
there is but one extant in England, known to be so, 
which is preserved in the Public Library of Cambridge, 
as I am informed/ See his Letter of July the 15th, 
1758, addressed to Archbishop Seeker, which is inserted 
in the Rev. H. J. Todd's ' Catalogue of the Archiepis- 
copal Manuscripts in Lambeth Palace/ London, 1812, 
fol. p. 242, Art. 959. 

" The life of Archbishop Richard, which this book 
contains, is nearly the same as that related by Francis 
Godwin, Bishop of LandafF ; and before I leave speaking 
of this early and Reverend patron of London Bridge, let 
me endeavour to clear his memory from something like 
a stain which attaches to it. He received the Arch- 
bishop's Pall, immediately after the death of a man of 
unconquerable spirit and insurmountable pride, for you 
will remember that he was successor to Beckett ; and, 
perhaps, it was the strong contrast afforded by his 
yielding and quiet disposition, which has made some 
suppose that he did nothing worthy of memory. I am, 
however, myself rather surprised at the manner of his 
decease, when it is allowed by all his biographers, that 
he was a man so charitable, of such benefit to the 
revenues of the church, and was so liberal both to the 



1176.] LONDON BRIDGE. 49 

poor, the nation, the King, and even the Pontiff himself. 
The story of his death is related by Gervase of Dover, 
by Henry Knyghton, the Canon of Leicester, and in the 
Chronicle of William Thome, the Monk of St. Angus- 
tin's, Canterbury ; but I shall recite it to you from the 
old English edition of Francis Godwins c Catalogue of 
the Bishops of England, from the first planting of the 
Christian Religion in this Island :' London, 1615, 4to, 
p. 96. ' The end of this man,' says the Prelate, ' is thus 
reported, how that being a sleepe at his Mannor of 
Wrotham, there seemed to come vnto him a certaine 
terrible personage' — Knyghton and Thome say ' the 
Lord appeared unto his sight/ — c demaunding of him, 
who he was ; whereunto, when for feare, the Archbishop 
answered nothing, Thou art he, quoth the other, that 
hast destroyed the goods of the Church, and I will 
destroy thee from off the earth : this having said, he 
vanished away. In the morning betime, the Archbishop 
got him up, and taking his iourney toward Rochester, m 
related this fearfnll vision vnto a friend of his by the way. 
Hee had no sooner told the tale, but hee was taken sud- 
denly with a great cold and stifenesse in his limmes, so 
that they had much adoo to get him so farre as Haling, 
a house belonging to the Bishop of Rochester. There 
he tooke his bed, and being horribly tormented with the 
cholike, and other greefes, vntill the next day, the night 
following, the 16th of February, hee gaue vp the ghost, 
anno 1183/ 

" Though such was his untimely end, yet his being 
so great a benefactor to the original building of old 
London Bridge, ought to make his name revered by 
every true-hearted Citizen of London; and, indeed, 
Bridge-building has been thought by some to be an act 
of real piety, witness those rude old verses printed in 
Leland's ' Itinerary,' vol. vii. part I., Marginal fol. 64 b, 
p. 79, which were composed on the erecting of the Bridge 
at Culham, in Oxfordshire, and hung up by Master 

E 



50 CHRONICLES OF [a. It. 

Ri shard Fannand, Ironmonger, of Abingdon, in the Hall 
of St. Helen s Hospital. 

' Off alle wevkys in this worlde that ever were wrought, 

Holy Chirche is chefe, there children been chersid. 
For by baptim these barnes to blisse been y brought, 

Thorough the grace of God, and fayre refresshed. 
Another blessid besines is Brigges to make, 

Where, that the pepul may not passe after greet showers ; 
Dole it is to drawe a deed body out of a lake, 

That was fulled in a fount stoon, and a felow of oures. 
King Herry the fifte, in his fourthe yere, 

He hathe yfounde for his folke a Brige in Berke schyre, 
For cartis witli carriages may goo and come clere, 

That many Wynters afore were mareed in the myre. 
And some oute of ther sadels flette to the grounde 

Wente forthe in the water wist no man whare ; 
Fyve wekys after or they were yfounde, 

Ther kyn and ther knowlech caught them uppe with care.' 

" By this then, you see there is much virtue in your 
Bridge-builder. The names of all the Benefactors to 
London Bridge, indeed, were fairly painted on a tablet, 
and hung up in St. Thomas's Chapel, which stood upon 
the middle of it ; and, doubtless, the donation of King 
Henry II. would be found there recorded, if that grateful 
testimonial were yet in existence. The King's gift, how- 
ever, is supposed to have been, in fact, the . gift of the 
people, being the produce of a tax upon wool ; and hence 
arose that absurd tradition, which the commonalty in- 
vented to make a wonder of the matter, that ' London 
Bridge was built upon woolpacks.' I am, indeed, 
inclined to think that the measure was not very popular ; 
for the people of England seldom failed to complain of 
any additional duty placed upon that commodity ; and of 
this you find some reliques in Lord Coke's Commentary 
on the 30th Chapter of the ; Magna Charta' of King 
Henry III., contained in his c Second Institute,' pp. 58, 
59. He is there speaking, you know, of the taking away 
of evil tolls and customs, and he observes, that some have 
supposed that there was a tribute due to the Kigg by the 
Common Law, upon all wools, wool-fells, — that is, the 



1176.] LONDON BRIDGE. 51 

undressed sheep-skins, — and leather, to be taken as well 
of the English as of strangers, known by the name of 
Antiqua Custuma. This amounted to half a mark, or 
6s. Sd. for every sack of wool of 26 stone weight ; and a 
whole mark upon every- last of leather. But even this 
his Lordship also endeavours to prove a recent custom, 
by a Patent Roll from the Exchequer, of the 3rd of 
Edward I., a. d. 1274, which states, that the Prelates, 
Chiefs, and the whole Common Council of the kingdom, 
had consented to grant this new custom of wool to him, 
and to his heirs. Now, even the words ' novam 
consuetudinem' may signify only a revival of the ancient 
tax, for some specific cause ; as it might have lain 
dormant since the days of building London Bridge ; thus 
having reference to a new occasion, and not to the date. 
But shortly previous to the final confirmation of the 
Great and Forest Charters, however, in the 25th of 
Edward I., 1296, the King set a new toll of forty shillings 
upon every sack of wool, without the consent of his 
Parliament ; which the Commonalty felt to be a very 
heavy imposition. Against this they petitioned, and in 
the aforesaid ' Confirmationes Chartarum/ Chapter vii. 
it was provided that such things should be abolished, 
and not taken, but by common consent and good will ; 
excepting the customs before granted. There appears to 
me, however, even a still nearer connexion between the 
Duties raised for the building of London Bridge, and the 
xxiii. Chapter of the 4 Magna Charta ' of King John, for 

J you there find that 4 No City, nor Freeman, shall be 
distrained to make Bridges or water-banks, but such as 
have of old been accustomed to do so : ' from which it is 
evident, that the taxation was general, and that this 
instrument was to make it particular ; though, according 
to Lord Coke's exposition, there was nothing gained by 
it : for, in his < Second Institute,' fol. 29, he says, that in 
the reigns of Richard I. and John, fictitious exactions 
were made in the names of Bridges, Bulwarks, and the 
like, but that neither the erection, nor the paying for 



52 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

them, was abolished by this act, since they could not be 
erected but by the King himself, or by an Act of Parlia- 
ment. — But Mr. Barbican ! — You doze, worthy Sir !" 

" Why truly, Mr. Postern," said I, rubbing my eyes, 
"tax-gathering is always dull work; and I verily thought 
we had lost sight of the Bridge in the paying for it. 
You're as minute with all your authorities as a Flemish 
painter that marks every hair on a cat's back, and I can 
turn over your old dull authors in my own dusty book- 

rOOin." 

" I must acknowledge," said my visitor, " that such 
details are rather dry ; but you very well know, my 
good friend, as Father Le Long said, ; Truth is so de- 
lightful, that we should consider no labour too great to 
obtain it :' and, indeed, I wished to bring before you 
some circumstances which lie widely scattered, although 
they, nevertheless, most excellently illustrate the story, 
and I would do all honour to the memory of the worthy 
Peter of Colechurch." 

" Really, Sir," answered I, " if his blessing be worth 
having, it ought to rest upon your head ; for had you been 
Peter of Colechurch himself, ten times over, you could 
scarcely have taken more pains with your history : and 
so, — here's your health, and his, Mr. Bamaby." 

" My best thanks to you, my honoured friend," replied 
Mr. Postern, " and I'll shortly repay your attention by a 
piece of a more brilliant description ; for having once got 
the Bridge built, and paid for, we'll take a look at Y* 
picturesque old edifice itself, and at some of the n 
gorgeous sights and interesting scenes which took i 
upon it : indeed it shall go hard but what I'll find 
amusement. The building, then, which the nevf 
be- forgotten Peter of Colechurch began, took as long .. 
complete as Solomon's Temple, for thirty and three years 
were employed in erecting it. Ere that period, however, 
the charitable priest who designed it, the learned Archi- 
tect and wise builder who watched its progress, went the 
way of all flesh ; as we shall find hereafter, in 1205, anc 1 



1201.] LONDON BRIDGE. 53 

not, as Maitland erroneously says, in the third of King 
John, a. d. 1201, though he also supposes that he might 
then be worn out by age or fatigue, since in the Patent 
Rolls of the Tower of London, of that year, M. 2, No. 9, 
is the following Letter Missive of the King to the Mayor 
and Citizens of London, recommending a new Architect. 
For other references you may consult Maitland's History, 
p. 45 ; Thomas Hearne's edition of the ' Liber Niger 
Scaccarii," London, 1771, 8vo, vol. i. p. *470, where it 
is printed in the original Latin ; and the 4 Calendarium 
Rotulorum Patentium in. Turn Londinensi, Printed by 
Command,' London, 1802, fol. p. 1, col. 1. The Letter is 
as follows : — 

" c John, by the Grace of God King of England, &c. to his 
faithful and beloved the Mayor and Citizens of London, greeting; 
Considering how the Lord in a short time hath wrought in regard 
to the Bridges of Xainctes and Rochelle, by the great care and pains 
of our faithful, learned, and worthy Clerk, Isenbert, Master of the 
Schools of Xainctes : We therefore, by the advice of our Reverend 
Father in Christ, Hubert (Walter), Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
that of others, have desired, directed, and enjoined him to use his 
best endeavour in building your Bridge, for your benefit, and that 
of the public : For we trust in the Lord, that this Bridge, so requi- 
site for you, and all who shall pass the same, will, through his 
industry and the divine blessing, soon be finished. Wherefore, 
without prejudice to our right, or that of the City of London, we 
will and grant, that the rents and profits of the several houses which 
the said Master of the Schools shall cause to be erected upon the 
Bridge aforesaid, be for ever appropriated to repair, maintain, and 
uphold the same. And seeing that the requisite work of the Bridge 
cannot be accomplished without your aid, and that of others, we 
charge, and exhort you, kindly to receive and honour the above- 
named Isenbert, and those employed by him, who will perform 
everything to your advantage and credit, according to his directions, 
you affording him your joint advice and assistance in the premises. 
For whatever good office or honour you shall do to him, you ought 
to esteem the same as done to us. But, should any injury be offered 
to the said IsenbeTt, or to the persons employed by him, which we 
do not believe there will, see that the same be redressed so soon as 
it comes to your knowledge. Witness myself, at Molinel,' — in the 
Province of Bourbon, in France, — ' the eighteenth day of April.' 

" ; A Letter,' adds Hearne, on page *47l, ' of the same 
form, was written -o all the King's faithful subjects con- 



54 CHRONICLES OF [\a. D. 

stituting the realm of England ;' and the instrument itself 
is also to be found at length in the original Latin, in Sir 
Symonds D'Ewes' extracts from the Records, Harleian 
MSS. in the British Museum, No. 86, p. 1 a. 

" It is, however, by no means clear, notwithstanding 
this Royal Writ, that Isenbert was employed by the Citi- 
zens to complete the building of London Bridge ; indeed, 
the Rev. John Entick, in his edition of Maitland's ' His- 
tory of London,' vol. i. p. 45, imagines quite otherwise, 
because he found that King John, in the seventh year of 
his reign, 1205, three years, as he says, before the Bridge 
was finished, granted the custody of it to one Friar West, 
taking it from the Lord Ma}^or, and obliging the City to 
apply certain void places within its walls to be built on 
for its support. Strype also quotes the former instru- 
ment as being yet preserved in the c Rotuli Clausi,' or 
Close Rolls, in the Tower, 7 John, c. 19, for you know 
it was a private instrument, and therefore sealed up, and 
directed to the persons whom it specially concerned. 

" But now let us see how far this supposition is founded 
in truth. In the first place, the reference to the Close 
Rolls is erroneous, for the writ is to be found on the 15th 
Membrane, there being no such article as c. 19 ; and, in 
the next place, there was no such person as Friar West, 
for the title of Friar was not in use until the fourteenth 
century, and the person referred to was called Wasce^ 
though the name of West has been copied and re-copied, 
and the error thus perpetuated ad infinitum. The actual 
words of the writ are, in English, as follow. 

" « The King to Geoffrey Fitz Peter, &c.'— Chief Justice of 
England. — ' We will that Brother Wasce, our Almoner, and some 
other lawful man of London, provided by you and the Mayor of 
London, be Attorney for the custody of London Bridge. And, 
therefore, we command you that they give the whole to these men, 
like as Peter, the Chaplain of Colechurch, possessed the same from 
them. Witness for the same, the Prior of Stoke, at Marlebridge, 
the 15th day of September. ' 

" Notwithstanding this instrument, we hear no more 
of Frater Wasce, nor of Isenbert of Xaincfes, but are 



1209.] LONDON BRIDGE. 63 

the windows were three arched recesses, separated by 
small pillars; and the roof itself was also originally 
formed of lofty pointed arches; though, when this 
magnificent fane was transformed into a warehouse, a 
wooden ceiling, with stout beams crossing each other in 
squares, was erected, which cut off the arches where they 
sprang from the pillars, and divided into two parts the 
Interior of the Upper Chapel of St. Thomas. 




The Eastern extremity of this building formed a semi- 
hexagon, having a smaller window in each of its divisions, 
with richly carved arches under them, corresponding 
with the series already mentioned on the side : and the 
architectural lightness and elegance of the whole', meriting 
the highest encomium. Beneath this principal edifice, 
was a short descendiug passage, having, on the left hand, 
a stone basin cut in a recess in the wall, for containing 



64 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Holy Water, and leading, through the solid masonry of 
the Pier, into the Lower Chapel of St. Thomas, which 
was constructed in the Bridge itself. 




" This Crypt was entered both from the upper apart- 
ment and the street, as well as by a flight of stone stairs 
winding round a pillar, which led into it from the nearest 
Pier: whilst in the front of this latter entrance, the 
Sterling formed a platform at low water, which thus 
rendered it accessible from the River. The Lower 
Chapel, which — even decorated as that was, in my 
estimation, very far exceeded the upper one in architec- 
tural beauty, — was about 20 feet in height, and its roof 
supported by clustered columns, similar to those I have 
already described ; from each of which sprang seven ribs, 
the centre, and the two adjoining it in every division, 
being bound by fillets with roses on the intersections ; 
whilst the great horizontal ribs had clusters of regal 
and ecclesiastical masks, producing an effect little to 
be expected in such a structure, in such a situation; 
though I may trust to your correct taste, my good Mr. 
Barbican, for duly appreciating it. There was also a 
rich Series of Windows in the Lower Chapel, 
which looked on to the water, similar in character to, i 
though much smaller than, those above : whilst the floor 



1209.] LONDON BRIDGE. 65 

was beautifully paved with black and white marble ; for 
in tins place did the pious Architect propose to rest his 




bones. His monument, remarkable only for its plain- 
ness, was formed, according to Maitlands ' History/ p. 
46, under the Chapel staircase, in the middle of the 
building ; and it measured seven feet and a half, by four 
in breadth. There was, indeed, neither brass plate, nor 
inscription, nor carving found about the sepulchre, when 
Mr. Yaldwin, the inhabitant of the Chapel in 1737, then 
a dwelling, and warehouse, discovered the remains of a 
body in repairing the staircase ; though, from the 4 Annals 
of Waverley/ p. 168, we know that the reliques of Peter 
were certainly entombed in this place. ' In 1205/ — 
runs the passage, — ' died Peter the Chaplain of Cole- 
church, who began the Stone Bridge at London, and he 
is sepultured in the Chapel upon the Bridge/ By this 
entry then, we are assured that he lay there ; and as for 
an epitaph, was not the whole edifice an everlasting 
catafalco to his memory, which should speak for all 
times? How finely, indeed, might we apply to him 
that inscription, which the son of Sir Christopher Wren 
composed for his father's burial-place in St. Paulas, — 
' He lived, not for himself, but for the public ! Reader, 
if you seek his monument, look around you ! ' 

" And now, before we enter upon an examination of 
the bed of the Thames at London Bridge, and consider 
whether the River were turned, as Stow thinks, to admit 
of its erection, let me cite you some ancient authorities 



66 CHRONICLES OP £a. J>. 

concerning St. Thomas's Chapel. The first of these shall 
be the ' Itinerary of Symon Fitz Simeon, and Hugo the 
Illuminator/ both of whom were Irish Monks, of the 
Order of Friars Minors, who visited London on their 
pilgrimage to Palestine, in 1322. c This flux and reflux/ 
— say they, at pp. 4, 5, — 4 continues to the sea from the 
famous River named Thames, upon the which is a Bridge, 
filled with inhabitants and wealth ; and in the midst of 
them is a Church dedicated to the blessed Thomas, 
Archbishop and Martyr, which is well served continually/ 
About the year 1418, also, William Botoner, a Monk of 
Worcester, of the Parish of St. James in Bristol, who 
then travelled from that City to St. Michael's Mount in 
Cornwall, in his 4 Itinerarium,* pp. 301, 302, thus spake 
of London Bridge and the Chapel. c The length of the 
Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr, upon London Bridge, 
is about twenty yards ; having an under Chancel in the 
vault, with a choir, but the length of the nave of the 
said Chapel contains fourteen yards. The width of the 
middle steps is one yard. The length of the Bridge on 
the South, from the posts to the first gate newly founded 
by Henry the Cardinal, unto the two posts erected near 
the Church of St. Magnus, consists of five hundred of 
my steps. Item : there are five great windows on one 
side,' — of the Chapel, — ' each of which contains three 
panes:' or rather divisions. Of these Itineraries I will 
observe nothing farther, than that they were published 
from the original Manuscripts in Corpus Christi College, 
Cambridge, by James Nasmith, the Editor of Tanner s 
4 Notitia Monastica;' in 1778, 8vo; under the title of 
4 Itineraria Symonis Simeonis, et Willielmi de Worcestre.' 
" Of this Chapel, and also of the first Stone Bridge, 
there are two large folio engravings, taken and published, 
by George Vertue, in 1744-48, which, after his decease, 
were, with many of his other plates of Antiquities, 
presented by his widow to the Antiquarian Society in 
1775. The first engraving measures 18^ inches by 20 



1209.] LONDON BRIDGE. 67 

inches and f , and contains ' A View of the West Front of 
the Chappel of St. Thomas, on London Bridge ; also the 
Inside View from West to East of the said Chappel, as 
it was first built An° . 1209 :' — and also ' London Bridge 
as it was first built, An° . 1209 :' — a Ground Plan, and 
some measurements of the same, and a short Historical 
Account of the structure, drawn up by Sir Joseph Ayloffe, 
Bart. Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries. The 
publication line states, that it was ; drawn, engravd, and 
published by G. Vertue, in Brownlow-Street, Drury- 
Lane, 1748/ A second edition was printed by the 
Society, in 1777. 

" The other plate contains c The Inside Perspective 
View of the Under Chappel of St. Thomas within Lon- 
don Bridge, from the West to the East End,' and beneath 
it : the c Inside South View of the Under Chappel from 
East to West, representing the manner and form of this 
rare piece of Ancient Architecture, thus drawn and 
transmitted to posterity, by G. V., Antiquary, 1744. 
Published and sold by G. Vertue, in Brownlow-Street, 
Drury-Lane, 1747/ This plate, which measures 18^ 
inches by 20, contains a few additional historical notes, 
by Sir Joseph Ayloffe ; and a reduced copy of the lower 
View was engraved in the 23d volume of the ; Gentle- 
man s Magazine,' for Oct. 1753, p. 520. I must observe, 
also, that, in the large interior View on that plate of 
Vertue last -mentioned, there are introduced the portraits 
of the learned Samuel Gale, and the eccentric Dr. 
Ducarel. The former, by whose patronage and assistance 
Vertue produced these prints, is standing on the left 
hand, holding a plan of the Chapel, and listening to an 
outlandish-looking man, designed for Peter of Colechurch; 
whilst the latter Antiquary is employed in measuring. 
You find this information given from Gale's own lips, in 
that monument of labour, the ' Literary Anecdotes of 
the Eighteenth Century,' by John Nichols, volume iv. 
London, 1812. 8vo, p. 552, and vol. vL pt. I. p. 402. I 
f2 



68 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

shall close this notice of these most ancient views of 
London Bridge, by observing to you, that there is a view 
and a ground-plan of it, with measurements, engraved 
by Toms, on the second plate in Hawksmoor's work, 
already cited. 

" Let me remark to you, however, Mr. Barbican, as 
touching the Chapel which I have thus described to you, 
that the custom of erecting Religious Houses on Bridges, 
is certainly of great antiquity. A notable instance of 
this kind was on the Bridge at Droit wich, where the 
road passed through the Chapel and separated the con- 
gregation from the reading-desk and pulpit. Another 
famous Bridge Chapel is also to be found erected over 
the River Calder, at Wakefield, in the West Riding of 
Yorkshire ; of which, a folding view, by W. Lodge, is 
inserted in the c Ducatus Leodiensis' of Ralph Thoresby, 
London, 1715, fol., sometimes placed at p. 164. This 
beautiful fane, you know, was built by King Edward IV. 
in memory of his father, Richard, Duke of York, who 
was killed in the battle fought near Wakefield, on 
December the 31st, 1460. The Bridge Chapel, however, 
though extremely rich in its architecture, was not so 
singular as ours at London, since it was not built in the 
pier, and descending even to the water's edge, but upon 
the pier, and the platform of the Bridge itself. Some- 
what like our shrine of St. Thomas, however, as it 
belonged to the poor of the town, it was, about 1779, 
converted into a dwelling-house, and let at a small annual 
rent to a retail dealer in old clothes ! as that industrious 
Antiquary, Richard Gough, tells us, in his c British 
Topograph}^' London, 1780, 4to, vol. ii. p. 437, note r. 
6 To what base uses may we not return, Horatio !' The 
edifice which had been erected for Monks to chant 
forth their Mequiescats in solemn procession ; the shrine 
which had been endowed for the sweet repose of a warrior s 
soul : the — " 

" 111 tell you what, Mr. Barnaby Postern," said I, 



1209.] LONDON BRIDGE. 69 

starting up, " you'll contribute to my sweet repose, 
unless you leave wandering in Yorkshire, and return 
again to London Bridge : what have we to do with a 
bead-roll of all the Bridge Chapels that are scattered 
through England ? I desire to know but of one ; for, 
by its having existed, we are sure that there might have 
been some sort of custom for their erection ; and, as old 
Chaucer saith, , 

6 Experience, though none auctoritye 
Were in this world, is quite enough for me.' M 

" True, Sir, true," said the mild old Antiquary; " you 
have once more brought me back to my starting-post ; 
for I own that I am too apt, when discoursing upon one 
subject, to branch out into others which seem to illus- 
trate, or are in any degree connected with it. You will, 
however, I dare say, allow me to remark, that Plutarch 
denies the derivation of the word Pontifex from the old 
Roman custom of sacrificing on Bridges, which might, 
nevertheless, be the origin of Chapels being built upon 
them. He mentions this in his Life of Numa Pompilius, 
in his ' Vitae Parallelee,' best edition, by Augustin 
Bryan, and M. du Soul, London, 1729-34, 4to, volume i. 
page 142. The Greek passage begins, No<V« $* Kalrty t&v 
&PX*€peW,' &c. ; and the Latin, 4 Jam etiam sacerdotum ; 
but I shall give you the excellent modern English ver- 
sion of Dr. Langhorne, in his very popular translation of 
the old Classic, from the edition of Mr. Archdeacon 
Wrangham, London, 1813, 8vo, vol. i. pp. 181, 182 : < To 
Numa,' says the passage, c is attributed the institution of 
t that high order of priests, called Pontifices ; over which 
he is said to have presided himself. Some say, they 
were called Pontifices, as employed in the service of 
those powerful gods that govern the world ; for potens, in 
the Roman language, signifies powerful. Others, that 
they were ordered by their law-giver to perform such 
offices as were in their power, and standing excused 



70 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

when there was some great impediment. But most 
writers assign a ridiculous reason for the term, as if they 
were called Pontifices, from their offering sacrifices upon 
the Bridge, which the Latins call Pontem ; such kinds of 
ceremonies, it seems, being looked upon as the most 
sacred, and of the highest antiquity. These Priests, too, 
are said to have been commissioned to keep the Bridges 
in repair, as one of the most indispensable parts of their 
sacred office/ Plutarchus, the author of this, you re- 
member, died about a. d. 140 ; and the period of which 
he wrote, was about 630 years before the birth of Christ. 
That giant of learning, also, John Jacob Hoffmann, 
denies that the word Pontifeoo had any thing to do with a 
Bridge ; as you may see discussed at considerable length, 
in his c Lexicon Universale,' Leyden, 1 698, fol. vol. iii. 
p. 836, column 2, where he says, it is compounded of 
posse and facere, that is to say, such persons as are able 
to do the thing, or sacrifice : but as the article is equally 
long, erudite, and curious, I refer you to the original. 

" And now we come to speak of S tow's singular 
hypothesis, that the River Thames was turned in its 
current, during the erection of the first Stone Bridge at 
London. He states this in his c Survey/ vol. i. p. 58, 
where he also says, that the course of the stream was 
carried through ' a trench cast for that purpose ; begin- 
ning, as it is supposed, East about Rotherhithe, and 
ending in the West about Patricksey, now termed 
Battersey.' Strype, the last, and, perhaps, the best 
Editor of our old Metropolitan Historian, on the page 
above cited, seems inclined to support this idea; for 
he says, 

f It is much controverted -whether the River Thames was turned, 
when the Bridge over it was built, and whether the River was 
more subject to overflow its banks anciently than at present ; and 
from all that hath been seen and written upon the turning of the 
River, it seems very evident to me, that it was turned while the 
Bridge was building, and that it is more subject to overflow its 
banks now, than it was formerly ; for the channel of the River 



1209.] LONDON BRIDGE. . 71 

must have been deeper than it is now, or the Palace of "West- 
minster would never have been built where the Hall and the rest 
of its remains are now situated. Is it to be supposed that any 
Prince would have built a Palace, where the lower rooms were 
liable to be overflowed at a spring-tide, as we see the Hall has been 
several times of late years, and the lawyers brought out on porters' 
backs ? The reason whereof is, that the sands have raised the 
channel, and, consequently, the tides must rise higher in propor- 
tion, than they did formerly; and unless some care is taken to 
cleanse the River, the buildings on the same level with the floor of 
Westminster-Hall, will not be habitable much longer, as the sand and 
• ouse are still daily increasing, and choking up the bed of the River. , 

Nicholas Hawksmoor, also, on p. 8 of his work, which 
I have already quoted, says, that 

i * f Many skilful persons have thought that the River Thames was 
not turned, but that the flowing of the tides was then different, and 
that the water did not rise so high at the Bridge ; for the Thames 
might heretofore overflow the marshes near the sea, and have a 
greater spreading ; which being now restrained by the bank, called 
the wall of the Thames, into narrower limits, and the water which 
comes from the sea into the mouth of the Thames during the flood, 
not being received by the marshes, must come up into the country, 
and so swell the tide higher at London than it usually did. The cele- 
brated Sir Christopher Wren was of opinion, that when the foundation 
■of London Bridge was laid, the course of the River was not turned, 
but that every pier was set upon piles of wood, which were drove as 
far as might be under low- water mark, on which were laid planks of 
timber, and upon them the foundation of the stone piers : the heads of 
the said piles have been seen at a very low ebb, and may be so still 
when some of the chalk or stone is removed to mend the Sterlings.' 

" Maitland, and his Editor Entick, are also hoth opposed 
to the idea that the River was turned during the erection 
of London Bridge, as they evince on p. 46 of their c . His- 
tory ;' where they ground their objections to it on the 
following arguments. Firstly, it is supposed that the 
vestiges of Knute's Canal — which, as we have seen, took 
the same course as Stow supposes the River to have taken, 
— might have deceived him ; a reason also adopted by 
Hawksmoor, in the place I last cited. Secondly, the 
charge of such an immense work is next objected to ; as 
the cost of the ground intended for the trench, the em- 



72 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

bankment of it, and the damming off the River itself must 
have amounted to at least treble the sum which would 
otherwise have been required to erect the Bridge. The 
total silence of those Historians who mention the con- 
struction of London Bridge, upon the subject of so great 
a work as the turning of the River, is next insisted upon : 
and, finally, the length of time which the building occu- 
pied, — thirty- three years, — is adduced as alone sufficient 
to overthrow the whole hypothesis. c For/ adds the 
author, ' had the people concerned in erecting it, had dry 
ground to have built upon, it might have been finished in 
a tenth part of the time, and in a much more durable 
manner/ Maitland then proceeds to state, that, in 1730, 
he surveyed the Bridge, in company with Mr. Bartholo- 
mew Sparruck, the Water-Carpenter of the same; and 
that he observed in many places, — where the stones were 
washed from the sterlings, — the mighty frames of piles 
whereon the stone piers or pillars were founded ; the 
exterior parts of which, consisted of huge piles driven 
as closely together as art could effect. c On the tops 
of these,' he continues, ' are laid long planks, or beams 
of timber, of the thickness of ten inches, strongly bolted ; 
whereon is placed the base of the stone pier, nine 
feet above the bed of the River, and three below the 
sterlings ; and on the outside of this wooden foundation, 
— and for its preservation, — are drove the piles called the 
sterlings/ He then goes on to observe, that Mr. Spar- 
ruck informed him, that he and the Bridge- Mason had 
frequently taken out of the lowermost layers of stones in 
the piers, several of the original stones, which were laid 
in pitch instead of mortar ; and that from this circum- 
stance they imagined, that all the outside stones of the 
piers, as high as the sterlings, were originally bedded in 
the same material, to prevent the water from damaging 
the work. This labour was, he thinks, continued at every 
ebb tide, until the piers were raised above high-water 
mark ; and hence he argues, that if the Thames had been 



1209.] LONDON BRIDGE. 73 

turned, there would not have been any occasion for the 
use of pitch, and that Plaster of Paris was not then in use 
in this country. These are the principal heads of the 
dispute concerning the turning of the River ; to which I 
only add my own settled conviction, that the course of the < 
Thames was not altered." 

" But pray, my worthy friend," said I, as he concluded, 
" what other buildings stood upon the Bridge built by 
Peter of Colechurch, besides the Chapel of St. Thomas?" 

" That is a point," replied he, " upon which Antiqua- 
ries are very far from being decided : for whilst some 
assert, with Sir Joseph AylofFe in his account of the 
Bridge attached to Vertue's prints, that, at first, there 
were no houses upon it, and that it was only plainly 
coped with stone until 1395, — late in the reign of Richard 
II., — others argue that it was built upon to some extent 
two centuries before ; and, indeed, there is proof of this 
being the case in the reign of King Edward I., as I shall 
show you anon. Stow, in his c Survey,' vol. i. p. 22, says 
that the Bridge Gate, which was erected at the South- 
ward: end, was one of the four first and principal gates of 
the City, and stood there long before the Conquest, when 
there was only a Bridge of timber, being the seventh and 
last-mentioned by Fitz-Stephen. Maitland, at p. 30 of 
his first volume, when he comes to speak of the same 
erection, denies not only the truth, but even the probabi- 
lity of Stow's assertions; and, indeed, Stephanides himself 
says only at p. 24, c On the West,' — that is of London, 
— ' are two Castles well fortified ; and the City wall is 
both high and thick with seven double gates, and many 
towers on the North side, placed at proper distances. 
London once had its walls and towers in like manner on 
the South, but that vast River, the Thames, which 
abounds with fish, enjoys the benefit of tides, and washes 
the City on this side, hath, in a long tract of time, totally 
subverted and carried away the walls in this part/ The 
Latin of this passage commences at ? Ab Occidente duo Cas- 



74 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

tella munitxssima* &c. Maitland then goes on to argue, 
that Fitz-Stephen could have no regard to a gate on the 
South, there being no wall remaining ; ' whereas/ says 
he, ' on the contrary, it is manifest that his seven gates 
were in the continued wall on the land side/ 

" It is probable, however, that, at a very early period 
after its erection, towers were reared upon London 
Bridge, for there was one standing at each end ; but 
of these I shall speak more largely under future years : 
remarking only, that it is by no means impossible for a 
Watch-tower and gate to have stood upon the Bridge, 
even from its very first erection, seeing that it was, as it 
were, a new key to the City. A sort of Barbican, Mr. 
Geoffrey, such as you derive your name from ; for you 
remember the essential importance which such buildings 
were of, and how Bagford speaks of them in his Letter 
to Hearne, which I have already quoted, p. Ixii. ' Here,' 
says he, 'they kept Cohorts of Souldiers in continual 
service' — for your Barbican Tower was of Roman in- 
vention, — c to watch in the night ; that if any sudden fire 
should happen, they might be in a readiness to extin- 
guish it, as also to give notice if an enemy were gather- 
ing or marching towards the City to surprise them. In 
short, it was a Watch-tower by day ; and at night, they 
lighted some combustible material on the top thereof, to 
give directions to the weary traveller repairing to the 
City, either with provision or on some other occasion/ 

" But to pass from probabilities to certainties, let us 
now, having got the Bridge fairly built of stone, consider 
the many events and changes which it hath experienced, 
from its infancy in the thirteenth Century, to its old 
age in the nineteenth : and so, my excellent auditor, 
Here begin the Books of the Chronicles of London 
Bridge. 

" That sorrowful exclamation, 4 No sooner bom than 
dead ! ' may well, at the period at which we are now 
arrived, be uttered over this scarcely completed edifice ; 



1212.] LONDON BRIDGE. 75 

for, in the night of the 10th of July, 1212, within four 
years after its being finished, a dreadful conflagration 
took place upon it. Stow, at p. 60 of his ; Survey/ cites 
the Book of Dunmow, William de Packington, and 
William of Coventry, as his authorities for that excel- 
lent account of it which I shall presently repeat to you. 
Let me, however, first observe, that Packington was 
Secretary and Treasurer to Edward the Black Prince, in 
Gascoigne, about 1380. For William of Coventry, I con- 
ceive that we should read Walter of Coventry ; because 
the former, who wrote about 1360, is celebrated in p. 148 
of Bishop Nicolson s ; Historical Libraries/ already cited, 
as the Author of a work ' concerning the coming of the 
Carmelites into England/ Walter, on the contrary, at 
p. 61, is mentioned as having compiled three books of 
Chronicles, about the year 1217, which yet remain in 
Manuscript in Bennet College, Cambridge. The ■ Chro- 
nicle of Dunmow/ which is the other authority quoted 
by Stow, is now to be found only in a small 4to vol. in 
the Harleian Library of Manuscripts, No. 530, art. ii., 
p. 2 a. It consists of a miscellaneous collection of notes, 
in the handwritings of Stow, Camden, and perhaps Sir 
Henry Savile ; transcribed upon old, stained, and worn- 
out, paper. The notice of this great fire is very brief, 
and, with the heading of the extracts, runs thus : c Col- . 
lectanea ex Chronico de Dunmowe/ — ' 1213. London 
was burned and the Brydge also, and many peryshed by 
violence of the fyre.' Stow's own account, however, is 
the most interesting extant, and is as follows. ■ The 
Borough of South wark/ says he, 4 upon the South side 
of the River of Thames, as also the Church of our Lady 
of the Canons there,' — that is to say the Church of St. 
Mary Overies, which changed its name upon being re- 
founded, in 1106, for Canons Regular, by W r illiam de 
Pont de FArche, and William D' Auncy, Norman knights, 
— these ' being on fire, and an exceeding great multitude 
of people passing the Bridge, either to extinguish and 



76 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

quench it, or else to gaze and behold it ; suddenly the 
North part, by blowing of the South wind was also set 
on fire ; and the people which were even now passing 
the Bridge, perceiving the same, would have returned, 
but were stopped by the fire : and it came to pass, that 
as they stayed or protracted the time, the other end of 
the Bridge also, namely, the South end, -was fired; so 
that the people, thronging themselves between the two 
fires, did nothing else but expect present death. Then 
there came to aid them many ships and vessels, into 
which the multitude so unadvisedly rushed, that the ships 
being thereby drowned, they all perished. It was said, 
that through the fire and shipwreck, there were destroyed 
above three thousand persons, whose bodies were found 
in part or half burned, besides those that w T ere wholly 
burned to ashes, and could not be found/ 

" Such is Stow's account of this melancholy event, 
which is best confirmed by the 4 Annals of Waverley,' 
p. 173 ; but they state also, that under this year, c 1212, 
London, about the Bridge, was great part burned, to- 
gether with the Priory of South wark/ Now, if we might 
credit the c Historise Angliae' of that wily, but elegant 
Italian, Polydore Vergil, we might be sure, that even at 
this period, London Bridge was built upon : ' Ipso illo 
anno* saj^s he, at p. 276 of his book, setting out, how- 
ever, with an erroneous date, c In that same year ' — 
1211, — ' all the buildings that were erected upon London 
Bridge, w T ere, even upon both sides, destroyed by fire : 
the which is esteemed a place of wonder.' Polydore 
Vergil, you know, was an Historian of the reign of King 
Henry VIII. so we shall refer to him hereafter ; and his 
work, now cited, was written at that Monarch's request, 
so late as about the year 1521. It is esteemed chiefly 
for its elegant diction ; and the best edition of it is con- 
sidered to be that printed at Leyden, in 1651, 8vo ; 
though the foregoing reference is to the last impression 
of the Basil folio, a. d. 1570. 



1235.] LONDON BRIDGE. 77 

" There does not appear, however, to have been any- 
very effectual or speedy order taken for the restoration of 
London Bridge ; for in the ; Rotuli Clausi,' or the Close 
Rolls, of the loth Year of King John, 1213, Membrane 
the 3rd, is the following entry. ' It is commanded to the 
Mayor and Sheriffs of London, that the halfpence which 
are now taken of foreign Merchants, shall be given to 
the work of London Bridge. Witness Myself at the 
Tower of London, on the 18th day of December, in the 
loth year of our reign/ — You will find the Latin of this 
printed in the second impression of Thomas Hearne's 
edition of the ' Liber Niger Scaccarii,' London, 1771, 8vo, 
vol. i. p. *471 ; and the original record may be seen in 
the Tower of London, written in so small, delicate, and 
abbreviated a character, that it hardly makes two lines 
on the narrow parchment roll. And now that we are 
speaking of the repairs of London Bridge, I should ob- 
serve, that they are closely connected with the history Ox . 
the Bridge-House and Yard in Tooley Street, South- 
wark ; since Stow tells you in his ' Survey,' vol. ii. p. 24, 
that they were so called and appointed, as being ' a store- 
house for stone, timber, or whatsoever pertaineth to the 
buildings or repairing of London Bridge/ He adds too, 
that this House c seemeth to have taken beginning with 
the first foundation of the Bridge either of stone or 
timber ;' and that it is c a large plot of ground on the 
bank of the River Thames, containing divers large 
buildings for the stowage ' of materials for the repairs of 
London Bridge. Of events which particularly concern 
this place, I shall, however, speak more fully in their 
proper order of time. 

" In the year 1235, you will recollect that Isabel, 
third daughter of King John, by his third Queen, Isa- 
bella of Angouleme, was sent w T ith great splendour into 
Germany, to marry the Emperor Frederick II. She was 
attended by William Brewer, Bishop of Exeter, and a 
Privy Councillor to King Henry III., and also by the 



78 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Archbishop of Cologne, the Imperial proxy, who had 
pronounced her Empress. Upon this occasion, according 
to the customs of the ancient Norman Law and the 
Feudal System, the King received an aid to furnish her 
dowry, of two marks out of every Knight's Fee ; — that 
is to say, as it is usually accepted, 11. 6s. Sd. from every 
person who possessed an estate of 20/. per annum, which 
was granted by the Common Council of the kingdom. 
This rather uncommon aid, you find certified in Thomas 
Madox's - History and Antiquities of the Exchequer of 
the Kings of England,' London, 1711, fol., p. 412 ; and 
in the voluminous collections of that eminent Antiquary, 
now preserved with Sir Hans Sloane's Manuscripts in 
the British Museum, No. 4563, p. 181 b, is the following 
very curious document, which connects this circumstance 
with the history of London Bridge. 6 To be remembered 
concerning the payments of Purprestures ' — fines for 
enclosing and damaging of Land — c and of Escheats ' — 
accidental returns of estates to their principal owners, — 
c It is commanded to the Sheriffs, that they get all the 
arrears of all the above rents, and the issues of all Pur- 
prestures and Escheats ; excepting the rents of London 
Bridge, and the remainder of the amerciaments belong- 
ing to the Circuit of W. of York/ — most probably Walter 
Grey, then Archbishop of York, and Lord Chancellor, — 
6 as well in the County of Middlesex as at the Tower, and 
all the deficiencies (of the aid) for marrying the King's 
sister, and for the passing over this sea into Gascony.' In 
the Exchequer Rolls of the 32nd of Henry III., a. d. 
1247, 12 a. 

" Towards the latter end of the year 1248, King 
Henry vainly endeavoured to collect from his Barons, a 
sum sufficient to enable him to recover certain provinces 
in France ; upon which, he offered a portion of his plate 
and jewels for sale to the Citizens of London, by whom 
they were bought. The King, displeased at finding they 
readily procured money for such a purpose, and yet 



1252.] LONDON BRIDGE. 79 

pleaded poverty whenever he solicited a supply, resolved 
upon retaliation ; and, to that end, kept his Christmas in 
the City, forced the inhabitants to present him with 
divers costly New Year's gifts, and established a Market 
at Westminster, to last for fifteen days, beginning on the 
13th of October, during which time all other fairs were 
suspended, and, in London itself, all commerce was pro- 
hibited. I think too, that we may trace the effects of 
Henry's anger yet farther ; for, in the Patent Roll of the 
34th year of his reign, 1249, Membrane the 5th, is the 
following writ. 

w ' Of taking the City of London into the hands of our Lord 
the King. The King, &c. to his faithful W. de Haverhull, his 
Treasurer ; Peter Blund, Constable of the Tower of London ; and 
Ernald Gerandin, his Chamberlain : Greeting. We command that 
without delay, you take into your hands our City of London, with 
the County of Middlesex, and London Bridge in like manner : so 
that the issues of the same be answered for to us at our Exchequer 
at our pleasure. And all the aforesaid shall be in safe custody, 
until the receipt of another mandate from us. In testimony of 
which thing, et caetera. Witness the King at Merton, on the 20th 
day of May/ 

" The original of this is of course in the Tower. 

" In the same National depository of invaluable records, 
Mr. Geoffrey, there is, in the Patent Rolls of the 37th of 
Henry III. — 1252, — Membrane the 4th, an entry entitled 
' A Protection for the Brethren of London Bridge, con- 
cerning the charitable gifts collected for the reparation of 
the said Bridge/ This, like the foregoing instrument, 
has not, as I can remember, ever been printed ; and, 
translated into English, it is as follows. 

' The King to the Archbishops, &c. Greeting. Know ye that 
we engage for the protection and defence of our Brethren of Lon- 
don Bridge, and their men, lands, goods, rents, and all their 
possessions. Arid therefore we command, that they, the Brethren, 
and their men, lands, goods, rents, and all possessions, in their 
hands, ye should hold protected and defended. Nor shall any 
bring upon them, or permit to be brought upon them, any injury, 
molestation, damage, or grievauce. And if it be that any thing 



00 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

hath been forfeited by them, amendment shall be made with- 
out delay. And we also desire of you, that when the aforesaid 
Brethren, or their Messengers, shall come to you for your alms 
for their support, or for that of the aforesaid Bridge, ye shall 
courteously receive them, and cause them to be so received in all 
your Churches, Towns, and Courts ; and that ye will bestow upon 
them of your goods according to your charity and the sight of our 
precept, the alms which they desire. So that in reward thereof ye 
may be worthy of all the blessings of mercy, and our special 
thanks shall be due unto you. In testimony of which thing, &c. 
Witness the King at Portsmouth, the fifteenth day of July/ 

" Really," said I to Mr. Postern, as he concluded the 
last Charter, " your memory, Mr. Barnaby, is little less 
than miraculous ! Why, it must be like a chain cable, 
to hold together the contents of all these musty Patent 
Rolls, with their endless repetitions. I myself am called 
by my intimates, ' Memory Barhican^ and I can recollect 
events and stories indifferently well ; but you ! you re- 
mind me of the Wandering Jew, who has lived eighteen 
hundred years, and never forgot any thing in his life !" 

" Ah ! my good Sir," answered the Historian of London 
Bridge, " if my memory were equal to your praise of it, 
it were, indeed, worth boasting of; but in my broken 
narrative I can show you but here and there an isolated 
fact, whilst to the greater part of the story, we are obliged 
to say with Master Shallow, " Barren ! barren ! Beggars 
all ! beggars all ! ' " 

" Take a draught out of the fragment of Master Shal- 
low's fat friend here," returned I, pointing to the Sack 
Tankard, " and set out afresh, my old kinsman ; but pray 
let us have the spur on the other leg now, and give us a 
little History to lighten our Law ; with which request, 
— Here's my service to you \" Mr. Postern bowed as 

1 drank, and, after having followed my example, thus 
continued. 

a You must doubtless remember, my good Sir, that 
during those unhappy Baronial wars which lasted nearly 
the whole of the extended reign of Henry III., it was 
supposed that Queen Eleanor of Provence opposed the 



1263.] LONDON BRIDGE. 81 

Sovereigns agreeing to the Barons demands ; and that in 
revenge for this, how very uncivilly the Citizens treated 
her at London Bridge. Matthew of Westminster tells the 
story under the year 1263, in his ; Flores Historiarum.' 
London, 1570, fol. Part ii. p. 315 ; and he, as you will 
recollect, was a Benedictine Monk of Westminster, who 
flourished, as Bishop Nicholson supposes in his ' His- 
torical Libraries/ p. 66, about the year 1307, when his 
history ends. The event to which I allude was, that as 
the Queen was going by water to Windsor, just as her 
barge was preparing to shoot the Bridge, the populace 
intercepted her progress, attacked her with vehement 
exclamations and reproaches, and endeavoured to sink 
her vessel, and deprive her of life by casting heavy stones 
and mud into her boat. Upon this, she was compelled 
to return to the Tower, where the King had garrisoned 
himself, as the City had declared for the Barons, whence 
she was removed to the Bishop of London's Palace, at St. 
Paul's. It was in the latter end of the same year, that 
Simon de Montfort, the sturdy Earl of Leicester, and the 
Baronial leader, marched his forces through the County 
of Surrey towards London, in the hope that his friends, 
Thomas Fitz-Richard, then Lord Mayor, Thomas de 
Pynlesdon, Matthew Bukerel, and Michael Tony, with 
whom was connected an immense multitude of the com- 
mon rabble, would open the Biidge Gates to him. When 
the King, however, became acquainted with the Earl's 
design, he left the Tower, and encamped with his troops 
about Southwark, to oppose his passage. As the Earl of 
Leicester relied more upon the assistance of the Citizens, 
than on the valour of his own soldiers, he vigorously 
attacked the King's troops, expecting that the Londoners 
would favour his entrance. Henry, however, had. still 
several adherents in the City ; and, indeed, Thomas 
Wikes, in his ' Chronicon,' p. 58, as it is printed in vol. 
ii. of Gale's ' Scriptores,' already cited, tells us that the 
Baronial party in London was composed of the meanest 



82 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

and most worthless, whom the wisest and eldest endea- 
voured to control. During the fight, therefore, some of 
the Royalists, and especially one John Gisors, a Norman, 
perceiving that the City was in motion to assist De Mont- 
fort, locked up the Bridge Gates, and threw the keys 
into the Thames. So prompt an action had nearly 
proved fatal to the Earl of Leicester, who had approached 
the Bridge with only a few soldiers, lest his designs should 
be discovered ; but at length the Gates were broken open, 
the Citizens rushed out in multitudes to his rescue; 
King Henry was obliged to retreat, and De Montfort 
entered the City. By this event we are informed that 
there certainly did exist a Bridge Gate in the year 1264 ; 
and the historians by whom the fact is related, are 
Matthew of Westminster, whose c Flowers of Histories ' 
I have already quoted, of which book see p. 317 ; and 
the ' Chronicon' of Thomas Wikes, a Canon Regular 
of Osney, near Oxford, which concludes with the year 
1304. 

" It would seem almost certain that, at this period, the 
keeping of London Bridge, with all its emoluments, was 
in the possession of the Brethren of St. Thomas of the 
Bridge ; and the idea is somewhat supported by the 
Protection to which I referred you but a short time 
since. There is, however, in the Patent Rolls preserved 
in the Tower of London, of the 50th of Henry III. — 
1265, — Membrane the 43d, the following instrument. 

il * For the Hospital of St. Catherine, concerning the Custody 
of London Bridge, with all the rents thereof for the space of five 
years. 

fi * The King to the Brethren and Chaplains ministering in the 
Chapel of St. Thomas upon London Bridge, the other inhabitants 
upon the same Bridge ; and to all others to whom these letters 
shall come, Greeting : Know ye, that we commit unto the Master 
and Brethren of the Hospital of St. Catherine near to our Tower 
of London, the Custody of the aforesaid Bridge with all its appur- 
tenances, as well the rents and tenements thereof, as of others 
which belong to the aforesaid Bridge, within and without the City : 
to have and to hold by the said Master and Brethren for the space 



1269.] LONDON BRIDGE. 83 

of five years. Yet so that out of the aforesaid rents, tenements, 
and other goods of the aforesaid Bridge, the repair and support of 
the Bridge is to he looked for, and to he done, from henceforth 
from that place as it shall he able, and as it hath been accustomed. 
And therefore we command you, that to the said Master and 
Brethren, as "well as to the keepers of the aforesaid Bridge, all 
things belonging to that custody be applied, permitted, and paid, 
until the term aforesaid. Witness the King at "Westminster, on the 
sixteenth day of November. ' 

" The Latin of this writ you find printed in Hearne's 
c Liber Niger,' which I have before quoted, vol. i. p. *47l ; 
and it affords us certain proof of the early existence of 
dwellings on London Bridge. 

" I will but remark in passing onwards, that Madox, 
in his ' History of the Exchequer/ already cited, p. 534, 
quotes a Roll to show that in the 52d year of King 
Henry III. — 1267, — Walter Harvey, and William de 
Durham, Bailiffs of the City of London, accounted to the 
Crown for the sum of £7. Os. 2^d., being the amount of 
the Custom of Fish brought to London Bridge Street, and 
other Customs also taken there. The term for which the 
Hospital of St. Catherine was to enjoy the custody of 
London Bridge, wanted, however, more than a whole 
twelvemonth of its completion, when a new Patent was 
issued by Henry III. in 1269, the 54th year of his reign, 
granting it to his Queen Eleanor of Provence. It is enti- 
tled, c The King gives to Eleanor, Queen of England, the 
custody of London Bridge, with the liberties ;' and you 
will find it the third article on the 4th Membrane, in the 
Patent Roll for the above year : the Latin is printed by 
Hearne in the place which I last cited, p. *472, and the 
writ in English is as follows. 

" ' The King to all, etcsetera, greeting. Seeing that some time 
since we would have granted to our most dear Consort Eleanor, 
Queen of England, the Custody of our Bridge at London, with the 
liberties and all other things belonging to that Bridge, to have for 
a certain term : We, therefore, do grant to the same Queen, out 
of our abundant grace and will, the custody of the Bridge aforesaid, 
with the liberties and all other things belonging to that Bridge, to 
g2 



84 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

be considered from the feast of All Saints/ — 1st of November — 
* about to arrive ; and from the same Feast of All Saints until the 
full end of the six years next approaching, and following. In testi- 
mony of which thing, et csetera, Witness the King, at Woodstock, 
on the 10th day of September. ' ; ' 

" And pray, Mr. Barnaby Postern," said I, in a drowsy 
kind of voice, for I was almost tired at sitting so long- 
silent, " did the Queen enjoy the whole of her term, or 
was the custody of London Bridge again otherwise dis- 
posed of?" 

" You bring me, worthy Mr. Geoffrey," answered he, 
" by your very seasonable question, to speak of a matter 
in which the Citizens of London obtained a great triumph 
on behalf of their Bridge. It is somewhat singular, that 
Stow, at p. 60 of his 6 Survey,' vol. i. has very hastily, 
and, in my poor mind, very imperfectly, related this 
matter ; whilst Maitland, on p. 48 of his c History/ vol. L 
has told it still less circumstantially. I shall therefore, 
my good friend, take the freedom to put the proceedings 
between the Queen and the Citizens in somewhat more 
particular a form, illustrating them by the very records 
from whence we derive our information ; for to these, let 
me say, that neither of the authors whom I have men- 
tioned give you any reference. Previously to commencing, 
however, I must entreat you to bear with me, Mr. Bar- 
bican, if my proofs cited from the ancient Rolls of the 
Kingdom be dull and formal ; and to remember that they 
are often the only fragmenta we possess of past events. 
Tracing of local history is like endeavouring to follow 
the course of a dried-up river : a rude channel here and 
there presents itself; some mouldering ruin, once the 
abutment of an ancient Bridge, or — — " 

a Mr. Postern," said I, taking up the Tankard, and 
interrupting him, " once more, here's your health, and I 
wish you safe out of your wilderness : keep to one thing 
at a time, man, leave your dried-up river, and ' turn again 
Barnaby/ to the dispute between Queen Eleanor of 



1274.] LONDON BRIDGE. 85 

Provence, and the Citizens of London, concerning yonder 
Bridge." 

" In good time," continued my visitor, " you have 
brought me back again. And now, I would first request 
you to remember, that King Henry III. died at London 
on the 16th of November, 1272 ; Prince Edward his son 
then being in the Crusade in Palestine; whence, however, 
he returned to England in July, or August, 1274. Now, 
almost the whole of the reign of Henry III. had been 
disturbed by the truculent Barons contending with him 
for the final settlement of Magna Charta ; and these 
Civil Wars had very naturally produced numerous 
abuses with respect to the Estates of England, such as 
the Nobility assuming almost regal rights, imposing 
heavy tolls, and the officers of the Crown using divers 
exactions under colour of the law. Such was the state 
of English affairs at the return of King Edward I., and 
it was one of the first acts of his reign — as the ' Annals 
of Waverley' tell us on p. 23o, — to inquire into the 
state of the revenues, privileges, and lands of the Crown; 
as well as to examine into the conduct of the sheriffs and 
officers, who had at once defrauded the Sovereign and 
oppressed his subjects. For this purpose, as the next 
circuit of the Justices Itinerant was not expected for six 
years then to come, — as they generally travelled it but 
once in seven, — the King issued his Letters Patent under 
the Great Seal, dated from the Tower of London, on the 
11th of October, 1274, appointing Commissioners for 
each County in England, to make this important inqui- 
sition. They were instructed to summon Juries to 
inquire on oath the answers to thirty-five Articles, 
examining into the King's rights, royalties, and preroga- 
tives, and into the extent of all frauds and abuses ; the 
most full and ample instructions being given them for 
their conduct. The returns and answers to these inqui- 
ries constitute that interesting body of Records denomi- 
nated the ' Hundred Rolls/ which are preserved in the 



86 CHRONICLES OF [a. O. 

Wakefield Tower, in the Tower of London : though, "before 
we make any references to these, let me remark, that you 
will find their history, nature, and extent, fully described 
in the ' Reports from the Select Committee appointed 
to inquire into the State of the Public Records,' 1801, — 
foJ. p. 54, 57 — 62 ; and c Rotuli Hundredorum Tempore 
Henrici III. et Edvvardi I. in Turri Londinensi, et in 
Curia receptee Scaccarii Westmonasteriensi, asservati/ 
London, 1812—18, 2 vols. fol. The original Patent 
Commissions, and Articles of Enquiry, are also still pre- 
served in the Patent Rolls in the Tower, of the 2nd of 
Edward I., Membrane the 5th: by which we are in- 
formed, that Bartholomew de Bryaunton, and James 
de Saint Victoire, were appointed Inquisitors for the 
Counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Middlesex, and 
for the City of London : and that their enquiries for the 
latter place commenced in the 3d year of King Edward I., 
1274-75. On the first Membrane of the Roll for Lon- 
don it is stated, that twelve Jurors of Basinghall, or, as it 
is often called, Bassishaw Ward, gave the following evi- 
dence concerning London Bridge, for the original Latin 
of which see the 4 Rotuli Hundredon!!^ which I have 
already quoted, vol. i. p. 403, col. 1. 

u c When they enquired concerning the Rents of the 
Citizens and Burgesses, &c. — They said that the custody 
of London Bridge, which is wont to belong only to the 
City, is alienated by the Lady Queen, Mother of Edward 
our King ; and the Keepers of the said Bridge appointed 
by the same Lady Queen, expend but little in the 
amending and sustaining of the said Bridge. Whence 
danger may easily arise, very much to the damage of the 
King and of the City/ This is the second Inquisition 
quoted by Stow, on p. 60. On the third Membrane of this 
same Roll, containing the inquisition made in the Ward 
of William de Hadestok, or Tower Ward, the Jurors 
said that ' the Lady Queen Eleanor, Mother of our Lord 
the King, is now possessed of the Bridge of London, who 



1275.] LONDON BRIDGE. 87 

keeps it badly, and that it was belonging to the City of 
London :' and also that the custody had been alienated 
; from the Battle of Evesham/ August 4, 1265, as I have 
already shown you, until the time of the Inquisition. 
See p. 405, col. 1, of the 6 Hundred Rolls' before cited. 

" The Jurors of the Ward of Fori, or Fore-street, p. 
406, col. 2 of the same book, and Membrane 4 of the ori- 
ginal Roll, 'said that London Bridge had been for a long 
time in the hands of the City and Citizens of London, 
and that such had been always accustomed, by general 
consent, to be made keepers of the common Bridge of our 
Lord the King, and of his City, and of all passers over 
it ; and now/ they continued, ' the aforesaid Bridge is in 
the hands of the Lady the Queen, and they know not by 
what warrant. They said, also, that the same Bridge is 
greatly and perilously decayed through defect of keeping, 
which is to the great peril of our Lord the King and his 
City, and all passing over it/ The evidence of the Jurors 
of the Ward of Walter le Poter, was to the same effect : 
and you will find it on Membrane 5 of the Roll, and on 
page 408, col. 2, of the printed copy. A similar reply 
was also returned from the Ward of Peter Aunger, see 
Membrane 6, and p. 410, col. 1 ; from Coleman Street 
Ward, Membrane 7, p. 412, col. 1 ; and from the Ward 
of Johu de Blakethorne, Membrane 9, p. 414, Col. 2 ; 
where, however, it is added, that c the Bridge of London, 
which was formerly in the custody of the whole com- 
monalty to be repaired and re-edified, is now under that 
of Brother Stephen de Foleborn for the Queen Mother/ 

" The verdict of the twelve Jurors of the Ward of 
John Horn, also testifies the Queen s possession of Lon- 
don Bridge, see Membrane 11, and p. 416, col. 2 ; but 
from Queenhithe Ward, or that of Simon de Hadestok, 
Membrane 13, and p. 419, col. 1, we learn that the 
Jurors c said that the Lord King Henry took the Bridge 
of London into his own hands, presently after the Battle 
of Evesham, and delivered it into the hands of the Lady 



80 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the Queen, Mother of the Lord the King, who hath it 
now ; and that, to the great detriment of the Bridge and 
the prejudice of all the people, it is also now nearly in 
a falling state, through defect of support.' On Mem- 
brane 14, and p. 420, col. 1, the Jurors of the Ward of 
John de Northampton, — which is, by the way, the first 
Inquisition, so vaguely referred to by Stow, at p. 60 of 
his ' Survey,' — depose to the same effect ; as do those of 
the Ward of Thomas de Basing, Membrane 15, and p. 421, 
col. 1 ; the latter adding only, that when the Bridge was 
held by the City, it was delivered to two honest Citizens 
to keep, saving the rents of their custody. The only in- 
formation we gain from the Jurors of the Ward of Dow- 
gate, Membrane 16, and p. 422, col. 2, is, that Brother 
Stephen, Bishop of Waterford, was custodier for Queen 
Eleanor, whilst their evidence on the Bridge dilapida- 
tions is quite as full as that of the other Wards. 

" Such were the chief answers to the inquisitions con- 
cerning London Bridge, in the reign of King Edward I. ; 
I say the chief, for there are yet several others, which, 
for the most part, are but abridged repetitions of those 
already recited. Indeed, they are recorded upon a dif- 
ferent Roll, which is kept in the Chapter House, at West- 
Minster ; and you may see their contents in the printed 
copies of the c Hundred Itolls, , to which I have so often 
referred you, vol. i. p. 425 — 432." 

" Well, Mr. Postern," said I, when my narrator came 
to this breathing-place, w and how did King Edward and 
his Commissioners act upon this evidence against Queen 
Eleanor of Provence ? Were they not of the mind of Dog- 
berry as it regarded the answers of the Citizens ; ' 'Fore 
God ! they are both in a tale/ seeing that nearly ail of 
them swore alike V 

"I cannot, now," answered Mr. Postern, " call to mind 
any historical proof that the custody of London Bridge 
was immediately restored to the Mayor and Citizens, 
though Maitland states, at p. 48 of his 'History/ but 



1278.] LONDON BRIDGE. 89 

without quoting any authority, that the Citizens did not 
cease to prosecute their suit by Quo Warranto, until 
they had regained their ancient rights and privi]eges. 
Now, the fact is, it is by no means certain that there was 
any such suit ever commenced as it concerned the Bridge ; 
for the inquisition was first commanded by the King, and 
the Citizens had only to answer concerning the ancient 
possession and present state of their property, part of 
which they stated had been alienated by the King to the 
Queen Mother; adding, also, ' et nesciunt quo Warranto,' 
they knew not by what warrant, or right. This, probably, 
was the phrase which led Maitland astray; added to which, 
he cites at p. 104 the Quo Warranto Bag of the 3d year 
of Edward I. No. 4, in the Exchequer, containing the 
complaints of the Citizens concerning levies unjustly made. 
" It was, however, not the City of London only that 
presented and complained of alterations in the Bridge 
customs ; for in Messrs. Manning and Bray's c History 
and Antiquities of Surrey,' London, 1804 — 14, fol. vol. iii. 
p. 548, there is the following entry. ' At an Assize at 
Guildford, in Surrey, in the Octave of St. Michael,* — 
that is to say, within the eight days succeeding the 
29th of September,—' in the 7th of Edward I. 1278- 
79, before John de Reygate and other Justices Itine- 
rant, there came twelve for the Burgesses of South- 
wark. They present that a certain part of London 
Bridge, about the great gate of the Bridge, with the 
houses and buildings standing on that part, used to be- 
long to the Burgh of the King, of Southwark, where the 
King used to have of rents of Assize,' — namely, fixed 
rents, which could never be increased, — c yearly 1 Is. 4d. ; 
and of the customs of things there sold, 16s. and one 
halfpenny, till fourteen years ago, in the time of King 
Henry III., when the Mayor and City of London appro- 
priated it to the City : the King to be consulted. Also 
they present that the Keeper of London Bridge holds a 
messuage which formerly belonged to Reginald de Cole- 



90 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

mille, who then held the same in Chief/ immediately from 
the King, 4 by the rent of one penny farthing ; and that 
Milo le Marischall holds in Chief of the King two mes- 
suages which were formerly the property of Godefride 
de Marberer and Henry le Mareschall, and pays yearly 
two pence halfpenny/ The 6 Assize Pleadings,' or Rolls, 
containing these particulars, were written in consequence 
of inquisitions into the damages and alienations of the 
King's property, during the reign of King Henry III., as 
I have already remarked with regard to the Hundred 
Holls : the original pleadings are preserved in the Tower 
of London, and in the Court of the Receipt of the Ex- 
chequer, in the Chapter House at Westminster. Such 
were the ancient rents of the houses on London Bridge ; 
to which I may add, that a Fruiterer s Shop, two yards 
and a half and one thumb in length, and three yards and 
two thumbs in depth, was let on a lease from the Bridge- 
master, at a rental of twelve pence. 

" We well know, Mr. Barbican, that in the olden 
time, Bridges were applied to many purposes which now 
seem altogether foreign to such edifices. The celebrated 
Du Cange, you will recollect, in his c Glossarium ad 
Scriptores Mediae et InfimsB Latinitatis,' Paris, 1733 — 36> 
fol. vol. ii. p. 67, tells us, that Philip the Fair, King of 
France, ordained in 1304, that the public Exchange, or 
Bankers' Money Table for Paris, should be held upon 
the Great Bridge there, between the Church of St. Leu- 
fred and the Great Arch, as it was anciently accustomed 
to be. You may remember, also, that Bridges were once 
considered as Funeral Monuments, for Olaus Wormius, 
in his ; Monumentum Danicorum/ Hafnia, 1643, fol. 
p. 523, when speaking of the Island of Foesoe, observes, 
that there was erected a Bridge at the costs of two or 
three persons, as well to preserve their own names to 
posterity, as to commemorate that of Jotheimnt who 
converted them to Christianity. He adds also, that the 
word Bru, which is unquestionably the most ancient ety- 



1278.] LONDON" BRIDGE. 91 

mon of the term Bridge, signifies that coronal of stone 
with which the large burial-places, or tumuli, in fields, 
were encircled. With what great propriety, then, did 
the blessed Peter of Colechurch confide his fame to, and 
rest his most excellent bones in, London Bridge ! 

" Such, then, being the purposes to which Bridges 
were once appropriated, we are not to wonder that a Mar- 
ket formerly existed upon that of London ; although the 
circumstance is marked only by the order for its removal, 
which we find mentioned by Maitland in his ' History,' 
vol. i. p, 104, in the following terms. ' In the fifth year 
of this King's reign,' — that is to say, Edward I. 1276, — 
' it was ordained, that' there should not be kept a Market 
on London Bridge, nor in any other place, except those 
appointed for that purpose : also that no person should 
go out of the City to South wark to buy cattle, or any 
wares which might be bought in the City, under the 
penalty of the forfeiture of the thing bought. This is 
the first Ordinance of the Common Council we find on re- 
cord, concerning the regulation and appointment of Mar- 
kets in this City/ The margin of Maitland's work states 
that he derived this information from the book entitled 
' Liber Albus,' preserved in the Record Chamber of the 
City of London, fol. 130 a. Now this same White Book, 
which I imagine to have been so called from its having 
once had a cover of cream-coloured calf, was a most 
curious and elaborate work, compiled, as it is supposed, 
by Strype, by one J. Carpenter, who was Town Clerk in - 
the reign of Henry V., and a great benefactor to the City. 
It is dated November 5th, 1419, in the Mayoralty of 
Master Richard Whyttington, and the 7th year of the 
reign of Henry V., and ' it contains laudable customs not 
written, wont to be observed in the City, and other not- 
able things worthy of remembrance here and there scat- 
teringly, not in any order written/ Some of these memo- 
randa, as the Latin Prologue to the volume sets forth, 
are short indexes to the contents of other City Books 



92 CHRONICLES OF [a. I). 

Rolls, and Charters, which are cited by their names, or 
marks; and in the 4th Book, fol. 70 a, there is a refer- 
ence to another record marked A, p. cxxx., concerning 
the market on London Bridge, which was probably the 
occasion of Maitland's marginal note, as the ; Liber Albus 
Transcriptum,' itself, has not in any part of it a page 
numbered 130. The volume, then, in which this very 
ancient order of the Common Council is really contained, 
is a small folio of a moderate thickness, cased in boards, 
covered with white leather, having a coating of rough 
calf over it. The outside is garnished with bosses and 
clasps, now black with age ; and in the centre, a metal 
border holds down a piece of parchment, on which is 
written in Latin the title of the volume, in a clear black 
letter, guarded by a plate of horn ; informing us that it 
was begun in the 4th year of the reign of Edward 1. 1275, 
and finished in his 22d year, 1293. The leaves are of 
parchment, with the contents written in a small Court- 
hand in Latin ; and on fol. 130 a, is this entry. < Also 
that no Market place shall be kept upon London Bridge, 
nor in any other place excepting the appointed stations/ 
On the preceding folio, namely, 129 b, there is also this 
farther order concerning the Bridge : • Item, that no 
regraters,' — that is to say, those who both bought and 
sold in the same market or fair, — £ shall come from below 
London Bridge, for the buying and preparing of bread in 
the City ; because the Bakers of South w ark are not per- 
mitted by the statutes of our City, to come from without 
the City/ Before I quit these venerable records of Lon- 
don, I must observe to you that they contain an almost 
infinite number of very curious memoranda concerning 
London Bridge, which would occupy no trivial time, 
either to collect or relate ; since in the same ' Liber 
Albus* are numerous references to such particulars; see 
4 for a taste now,' as Touchstone saith, the articles en- 
titled c Of the Customs of the Bridge, Pt. I. fol. xii. a ;' 
— < of the Fees/— of Fish,— < of the Bridge Bailiff, fol 



1£78.] LONDON BRIDGE. 93 

xii. b ;' — ' concerning the keeping, rent, and course of the 
water under the wall,' — Wall-brook ; — c of the cleansing 
of Fleet-ditch, and of the Bridge of London, and the roads 
about London,' book iv. p. 16 a ; ' That the Quays and 
house of St. Botolph be built and repaired by the keepers 
of the Bridge, vol. E., fol. cxxv. ;' and c Writ for the 
keepers of the Bridge against the parson of Wolehurchaw, 
concerning the stalls on the same. Vol. G. fol. clvihv 
Such are a few of the very many historical notices relat- 
ing to London Bridge, preserved in the Civic Records ; 
4 Books/ says Strype, in the interesting Preface to his 
first edition of Stow's Survey, London, 1720, never after- 
wards reprinted, — c Books, that contain such a treasure, 
as, notwithstanding what Mr. Stow, as well as others, 
have extracted thence, and published, many other things 
in vast variety still remain there unprinted,' and, we may 
almost add, unknown. Alas ! my good Sir, can we won- 
der at the paucity of historical narrative, when we reflect 
how often its very sources are undiscovered ? Too many 
of our topographers, ' content to dwell in decencies for 
ever !' flatter each other, and copy each other s errors ; 
but how seldom do we see one, who, diving deep into the 

broad stream of Antiquarian lore, brings up " 

" Mr. Postern/' said I, with some warmth, " this is 
actually intolerable ; there is really nothing but what 
serves you for a Jack o'lanthorn to go astray by. 
Whether it be a book, or a bit of musty morality, which 
has nothing at all to do with the matter, away go you 
over hedges and ditches, and through a thousand thickets 
and sloughs, rather than keep the straight road; and 
dragging me along with you, over the boots in mire. I 
think, on the whole, indeed, that my estate is gracious 
that you have not all the Bridge Records at command, 
for then should / be overwhelmed, and you be ten times 
more wearisome. Come back then, my good Sir; do 
pray come back again, and finish the reign of Edward I., 
as it was connected with the history of London Bridge." 



94 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" I own," answered Mr. Postern, in his usual undis- 
turbed manner, a that your patience is somewhat tried 
by these details ; but ever remember, Mr. Barbican, I 
pray you, that our ancient Charters, with all their 
barbarisms and tautology, our old Latin Chronicles, with 
all their monkish fables and rudeness, our brief Patent 
Rolls, with all their dryness and seeming want of interest, 
— ever remember that these are the sure foundations on 
which all History is built. Simple truth was, in general, 
the only aim of the first Chroniclers, to which later ages 
have added grace of style, vividness of description, and 
interest of narrative, to adorn their antique fidelity and 
plainness. 

" But to proceed. — We are not made acquainted, Sir, 
with any particulars of the repairs which followed these 
inquisitions concerning London Bridge ; but in the 9th 
year of King Edward I. — 1280,— there was the following 
Patent issued for its support : the original of which is 
preserved with the other Patent Rolls in the Wakefield 
Tower, in the Tower of London, 9th Edward I. Mem- 
brane 25 — 27 ; a copy of the Latin is printed in Hearne's 
c Liber Niger,' which I have already quoted, vol. i. p. 
*472 ; and English translations are to be found in Stow's 
' Survey,' vol. i. p. 59 ; and Maitland's ' History,' vol. i. 
p. 47. The words of the Patent were these. 

" ' Concerning the Relief and Reparation of the Bridge of London. 

" ' The King to all his Bailiffs, and his faithful subjects, to 
whom, &c. , — these presents shall come, — Greeting. It hath been 
lately represented unto us, and it grieves us to see, that the Bridge 
of London is in so ruinous a condition ; to the repair of which unless 
some speedy remedy be put, not only the sudden fail of the Bridge, 
but also the destruction of innumerable people dwelling upon it 
may suddenly befeared.' — I pray you to take notice of this ex- 
pression, my good Sir, because it is undeniable proof of the very 
early occupation of the platform of London Bridge by residences. 
— c And that the work/ continues the Patent, * which may now be 
helped by some before it fall, may for want of a supply, come to 
the expense of a damage not to be repaired : Wherefore we, who 
are bound to take care of, and, by all gentle means to provide for 



1280.] LONDON BRIDGE. 95 

both the public and private good, and with affection specially to 
embrace those whomwe perceive to be in want of our assistance, and 
to receive thein under our Royal protection ; We command and 
require you, that when the keepers of the said costly work of the 
Bridge aforesaid, or their messengers who are under our especial 
protection and license, shall come to you to collect everywhere 
throughout our said realm aids for the said work from pious devo- 
tion, you do admit them friendly through the contemplation of God, 
in respect of Charity, and for evidence of devotion in this behalf: 
not bringing on them, nor permitting to be brought upon them, 
injuries, molestations, damage, impediment, or grievance : and if 
any damage be done them, that ye make them amends without 
delay. And when ye shall be required by the aforesaid keepers, or 
their messengers, to help in the reparation of the aforesaid Bridge, 
ye will cheerfully contribute somewhat of your goods thereto, 
according to your abilities. And let each of you endeavour to 
outrun the other in such memorable works of Charity, for which 
ye must have merit with God, and shall gain thanks of us. In 
testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at Walsingham, on 
the eighth day of January. 

" ' And it is also commanded to the Archbishops, Bishops, 
Abbots, Priors, Rectors, and to all other Ministers of the Holy 
Mother Church, to whom these presents shall come, that when 
they, the keepers of the costly work of the Bridge aforesaid, or 
their messengers, who are under our especial protection and license, 
shall come to you to gather supplies for the said work, everywhere 
throughout your Dioceses, Rectories, or other jurisdictions what- 
soever, from the pious and devout, you do admit them from the 
contemplation of God, the regard of Charity, and for evidence of 
devotion in this matter. Admitting them to excite the people by 
their pious persuasions, and charitably to invoke the assistance of 
their alms for the repair of the Bridge aforesaid. Not bringing upon 
them,' and so forth to the end, as before. 

" ; And, because/ says Stow, when he has finished this 
instrument, c because these voluntary alms and charitable 
benevolences were not like to bring in the whole charge 
of the business, therefore the next year, viz. the 10th of 
Edward I., Anno 1281, the same King issued out other 
Letters Patent for taking Customs of all commodities 
for the same in London, and that for a certain term of 
years/ These grants are also in the Tower, and the 
first occurs in the Patent Roll of the 10th of Edward I. 
Membrane the 18th; for you must remember that the 



96 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

earliest articles are the highest in number on the Roll, 
which counts from bottom to top, though the printed 
Calendar, or Index, reverses this order. The Latin 
text of King Edward's Patent is in Hearne, as before, 
p-. *474, and the translation of it is as follows. 

" c Concerning the Reparation of London Bridge. 

" 6 The King to his Mayor of London, Greeting : Because of the 
sudden ruin of the Bridge of London, we command you to associate 
with you two or three of the more discreet and worthier Citizens of 
the City aforesaid, to take, until our Parliament after Easter next 
approaching, in supply of the reparation of the Bridge aforesaid, the 
customs hereafter written ; namely, of every man crossing the water 
of Thames, or going over the aforesaid Bridge of London, upon either 
side, one Farthing ; both unto Southwark, and from Southwark unto 
London, by reason of the deficiency of repair of the Bridge afore- 
said : Of every Horseman so crossing the same, one penny ; and 
for every pack carried on a horse, so crossing over the same, one 
halfpenny. But we command, in the mean time, that not any thing 
be taken on the same on this occasion, excepting for the supply of 
the repairs of the Bridge aforesaid. In testimony of which, &c, 
Witness the King, at Cirencester, the Fourth day of February. ' 

" Before the appearance of the new Patent confirming 
the foregoing, there was, however, issued that grant to 
which I have already shown you that Maitland has a 
reference ; and which is to be found recorded on the 
Roll of the same year as the preceding, Membrane the 
11th. Stow also refers to it; and Hearne, on p. *475 5 
prints it in the original Latin ; in English it ran thus. 

" e That the Mayor and Commonalty of London have power to 
rent three waste portions of land in divers places in London for the 
support of London Bridge. — The King to all to whom these pre- 
sents shall come : Whereas' by the testimony of our beloved and 
faithful Ralph de Hengham, and William de Brumpton, and of 
others worthy of credit, we have been informed, that it is not to 
our damage, nor to the hurt of our City of London, if we grant 
unto our beloved Henry le Waleys, the Mayor, and the Common- 
alty of the same City, that those vacant places adjoining the wall of 
the Church of Wolchurch, on the Northern side of the Parish of 
Wolchurch ; and that the other waste places adjoining the wall of 
the Churchyard of the Church of St. Paul, on the Eastern side, 
between^ the gate of St. Augustin and the Street of West-Cheap : 



1281.] LONDON BRIDGE. 97 

of which places one half lieth in the Parish of St. Augustine, and 
the other half in the Parish of St. Michael, at the Corn-Market; 
and that the ether empty places adjoining the wall of the aforesaid 
Burial-place of the Church of St. Paul, on the Northern side, be- 
tween the great gate of the said Burial-place, over against the afore- 
said Church of St. Michael ; also the other gate in the same wall 
towards the "West, over against the narrow way of Ivy lane, that 
they may build thereon, and rent them for the support of the Bridge 
at London. We grant for us, and for our hell's, to the aforesaid 
Henry, and the Commonalty, that the places aforesaid may be built 
upon and rented for the benefit of them, and of the same City, as 
they shall see greater cause to expedite them : and they, the said build- 
ings and rents, are to be held of them and of their heirs for ever, for 
the support of the aforesaid Bridge, without occasion or impediment, 
of us and of our heirs, our Justices and our Bailiffs whomsoever. 
In testimonv of which thing, Witness the Kiii2f, at Hartlebury, the 
24th day of May. 5 

" And now I am to remind you, Mr. Barbican, that 
the Parish Church of St. Mary Woolchurch stood, until 
after the Fire of London, on that spot of ground once 
occupied by the Stock's Market, and now by the Mansion- 
House ; and a part of those waste places, which adjoined 
to St. Pauls Church Yard, was situate on the Eastern 
side of that street which we at present term Old 'Change, 
because of the Royal Exchange for the receipt of coined 
bullion, which was once kept there. The Street of 
West-Cheap, mentioned in the foregoing grant, was our 
modern Cheapside ; and St. Austin's Gate stood on the 
Northern side of Watling- Street, forming the South- 
East end of Old 'Change. Stow tells us, in vol. i. of his 
4 Survey,' p. 637, that in consequence of the preceding 
license of Edward I., Henry Walleis built one row of 
houses on the Eastern side of Old 'Change, the profits of 
which belonged to London Bridge. The other portion 
of those vacant pieces of ground lay in the Parish of St, 
Michael ad Bladam, as the Latin original hath it, which 
is to say St. Michael at the Corn, or, corruptly speaking, 
St. Michael Quern, because there was formerly a Corn- 
Market on the site of it ; and its famous Church, which 
was never rebuilt after the fire, stood, as Stow tells you, 

H 



98 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

p. 684, where Newgate Street and Pater Noster Row, 
6 like two rivulets joining into one, fall into Cheapside/ 
These vacant spaces, therefore, that were given to London 
Bridge were in Pater Noster Row ; the houses in which, 
says Stow, p. 664, fc from the first North gate of St. Paul's 
Church Yard, unto the next gate, were first built without 
the wall of the Church Yard, by Henry Walleis, Mayor, 
in the year 1282. The rents of those houses go to the 
maintenance of London Bridge/ This estate, as the deed 
informs us, lay over against, or to the South of, the 
Venella, that is to say the narrow Street or Way, which, 
even in 1281, was called Ivy Lane. 

" This year was, indeed, prolific in Royal Grants, for 
the benefit of London Bridge ; for, in support of that 
gift of Customs to be taken upon it, which I have 
already recited, King Edward also issued the following 
instrument, which stands on the Patent Rolls of the 10th 
of his reign, Membrane the 9th : You will find a copy of 
the Latin in Hearne, p. *476 ; and translations of it are 
in Stow, vol. i. p. 59, and in Maitland, vol. i. p. 47- 

" ' Concerning the Customs taken for the repair of London 
Bridge. 

' The King to his Mayor of London. When lately, by reason of 
the sudden ruin of London Bridge, we commanded yon, that asso- 
ciating with you two or three of the more discreet and loyal Citi- 
zens of the aforesaid City, ye should take, until our Parliament 
after Easter next past, in supply of the reparation of the Bridge 
aforesaid, a certain Custom, as in those Letters Patents which we 
have caused to he made fron that time to you, is more fully con- 
tained. We, being willing that the taking of the said Customs be 
continued longer, command you, that from the Feast of St. Mar- 
garet the Virgin, next coming/ — namely, the 20th of July, — 
( unto the end of the Three Years next following completed, ye 
take the underwritten custom of the aforesaid Bridge. That is to 
say, of every man on foot, bringing merchandise or other saleable 
goods, and crossing the Bridge aforesaid, and betaking himself to 
other parts, one Farthing : of every Horseman, crossing that Bridge, 
and betaking himself to other parts with merchandise or other 
saleable things, as aforesaid, one Penny : of every Pack carried on a 
horse, and passing over that Bridge, one Halfpenny. Nor will we, 
in the mean time, that any thing be there taken on this occasion. 



1281.] LONDON BRIDGE. 99 

but for the supply of the reparation of the said Bridge. But the 
aforesaid term of Three Years being completed, let the above- 
mentioned Custom cease and become void. In testimony of which 
thing, &c, for the aforesaid term of Three Years, this may last. 
Witness the King, at Chester, the Sixth day of July. ? 

" It is, however, worthy of remark, Mr. Geoffrey, 
before I pass downwards to another Year, that both 
Stow, at p. 60, and Maitland, p. 47, speak of this as the 
first Grant of Customs to London Bridge, and allude to 
that which I before rehearsed, as the second ; when the 
months in which they were issued, are no less distant 
than February and July, independent of the direct re- 
ference which this latter deed has to the commencement 
and terms of the former. The mistake has probably 
arisen from the peculiarity of numbering the skins on the 
Patent Roll, counting from the lowest end of it, which 
I have already mentioned to you, since the first instru- 
ment is on the eighteenth Membrane, and the latter on 
the ninth, 

" My next notice of London Bridge is of a nature far 
less happy than are these Patents for its support, for the 
Christmas of 1281 proved a most fatal season to it ; since 
Stow, in his 4 Annals,' edited by Edmund Howes, Lon- 
don, 1631, fol. p. 201, tells us, though without mention- 
ing his authority, that c from this Christmas till the 
Purification of Our Lady, there was such a frost and 
snow, as no man living could remember the like ; where- 
through, five arches of London Bridge, and all Rochester 
Bridge, were borne downe, and carried away with the 
stream e ; and the like hapned to many bridges in Eng- 
land. And not long after, men passed over the Thames 
betweene Westminster and Lambeth, and likewise over 
the River of Medway betweene Stroude and Rochester, 
dry-shod. Fishes in ponds, and birds in woods, died for 
want of food/ It would appear as if this devastation had 
not been very quickly repaired, for, when added to the 
former ruinous state of the Bridge, the complete demoli- 
tion of more than a fourth part of it, made it not only a 



100 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

very lamentable, but almost hopeless undertaking. Then, 
too, the very recent repetitions of grants for its repair and 
support, rendered the same course nearly impracticable, 
though old Stow tells us, in his 6 Survey,' vol. i. p. 61, 
that ' in the year 1289, the Bridge was so sore decayed 
for want of reparations, that men were afraid to pass 
thereon ; and a subsidy was granted towards the amend- 
ment thereof. Sir John Britain being Custos of London, 
Anno 1289, a great collection, or gathering, was made of 
all Archbishops, Bishops, and other ecclesiastical persons, 
for the reparations of London Bridge/ Of the writs for 
such collections I have, perhaps, already given you suffi- 
cient specimens. 

u Several years now passed, unmarked in our Bridge 
Annals but by the renewal of those various tolls, of which, 
but a short time since, I related to you the particulars ; 
which circumstances not only too fatally prove into how 
lamentable a state of decay our venerated edifice had 
then fallen ; but, what is infinitely worse, those repeated 
Royal grants and tolls as plainly indicate the dearth of 
that public spirit, which had erst lived in the glorious 
Peter of Colechurch. I will but observe then, that Stow, 
at p. 60 of his ' Survey,' and Maitland, who probably 
merely copied him, at p. 47 of his ' History/ both record 
the fact, that in the 27th and 30th Years of King Edward 
I., namely in 1298 and 1301, the same tolls and customs 
were continued for the repair of London Bridge. You 
will find the former of these grants entered on the Patent 
Roll for the proper year, in the Tower, under the title of 
% Pontage for London,' Membrane 29 ; but as the instrur 
ment is of some considerable length, I shall prefer giving 
you a similar shorter one hereafter, being the last Pontage 
Patent issued by that King. 

u And now, Mr. Barbican, we come to speak of a new 
matter connected with London Bridge, and a singularly 
curious one it is, inasmuch as it shows the great antiquity 
and power of the Bridge Master; but for the better 



1298.] LONDON BRIDGE. 101 

illustration of it, have patience with me, I pray you, for 
a few moments, whilst I recall to your memory a point 
of legal history to which it is collaterally related. In the 
times of our Saxon ancestors you may recollect one 
superior Court of Judicature, called the Wittenagemote, or 
General Council of Wise Men, was sufficient for the 
whole kingdom. When William I., however, came to 
be Sovereign, he contrived to separate from it the Ecclesi- 
astical and Judicial authority, by establishing a new and 
permanent Court in his own Palace, called in history by 
the various names of Curia Regis, the King's Court, and 
Aula Regia, or Aula Regis, the King's Hall. This was 
divided into several different departments, the principal 
of which were composed of the King's great Officers of 
State, who were resident in his Palace. Thus, the Lord 
Marshal generally presided in affairs relating to honour 
and arms, and the militaiy and national laws ; the Lord 
Chancellor kept the King's Seal, and had cognizance of 
all instruments to which it was attached; the Lord 
Treasurer was the chief authority in all matters concern- 
ing the Revenue ; and certain persons well acquainted 
with the Laws, called the King's Justices, assisted by 
the -Greater Barons of Parliament, formed a Court of 
Appeal in difficult cases, over which presided the Chief 
Justiciary of all England. For a considerable time this 
universal Court was bound to follow 7 the Kings household 
in all its progresses and expeditions, to the great delay of 
equity, and the extreme trouble of the people ; so that 
in the articles of petition, which preceded the ' Magna 
Charta' of King John, Section 8, it was solicited that 
Common Pleas, or causes, should no longer follow the 
King's Court, but be held in some certain and permanent 
place. This article was one to which John consented 
more readily than to any other in his Great Charter, as 
the power of the Chief Justiciary being already very con- 
siderable, he readily confirmed it by Chap. xvii. of his 
grant. This officer's place, however, was even then but 



102 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

little altered, as he remained in Westminster Hall, where 
the Curia Regis had originally sat ; and in the same 
building a Court of Common Pleas was established, for 
the determination of all causes concerning land, and 
injuries between subject and subject. The other depart- 
ments of the Aula Regia, naturally beginning to decline, 
soon after this separation, King Edward I. then new- 
modelled the whole judicial polity of England, by dividing 
it into other Courts. 

" Now, Sir, my intention in bringing to your memory 
these historical memoranda, is, to remind you that 
abstracts of written proceedings of these Courts, some- 
times called the Placita Rolls, or Rolls of Pleas, are yet 
preserved, recorded in Law Latin in a current Court- 
Hand full of contractions, some being in the Tower of 
London, and others in the Chapter House at Westminster. 
These Rolls contain pleadings as w T ell made in the ancient 
Curia Regis, as in the Courts subsequently erected ; 
though, those of the reigns of the First and Second 
Edwards are chiefly of pleas in the King's Bench, which 
is the last fragment of the King's Hall, because it may 
be removed with the Sovereign's person, wherever he 
goes ; and, although he be not actually present, yet he is 
still supposed to be so, since the style of the court is yet 
' coram ipso RegeJ before the King himself. Now, a 
collection of abstracts from the Placita Rolls of the 
various Courts, having been made, and the contents 
being thus of a very miscellaneous character as to their 
original time and place, it has been printed by order of 
the Commissioners of Records under the title of ' Placi- 
torum Abbreviation or Abstracts of the Pleadings pre- 
served in the Chapter House at Westminster, London^ 
1811, folio. 

" In this volume then, en p. 31 G, col. % we find it 
stated, that during Easter Term, in the sixth of the 
reign of King Edward II., — that is to say 1312, — there 
were pleadings before the King, at Westminster, coa- 



1802.] LONDON BRIDGE. 103 

cerning the property of the Master of London Bridge, in 
certain Mills on the River Lee in Essex ; but as these 
pleadings refer to an Inquisition originally- made in the 
time of Edward I., the present will be the most proper 
period to describe and translate them. Stow mentions 
the circumstance, when speaking of the office of Bridge- 
Master, in his ' Survey,' vol. ii. p. 25, in the following 
terms. ' The Keeper of the Bridge House had, in 
ancient times, an interest in certain Mills upon the River 
Lee, near Stratford ; and the Master of St. Thomas of 
Acres/ — now Mercers' Chapel, in Cheapside, — 4 had a 
title to other mills there. For, as it appears by an old 
Inquisition, taken in the time of King Edward the First, 
there was a Calcetum — i. e. a chalk causeway — on the 
North, near Stratford, which w T as made by Queen Maud, 
through which there were three trenches made for three 
courses of water to run, for the use of several mills, partly 
belonging to the Master of St. Thomas, and partly to the 
Bridge Master : over which were three wooden bridges 
made by the said Masters. This is manifest by an 
extract out of an ancient Inquisition taken at Stratford 
at Bow, before Roger Brabanzon and others, in Anno 
xxxii .' — we shall presently find that this ought to have 
been xxxi°. — c Regis Edvmrdi filii Regis Henrici, &c. — 
the purport of which is, that there were three mills made 
upon this chalk causeway Northward ; one a Fullers 
Mill, and the site of another mill belonging to the 
Master of St. Thomas of Acre : and two other mills, 
called Sayens Mill, and Spileman s Mill ; the one a 
Water Mill, and the other a Fuller s Mill, both held by 
the Keeper of London Bridge. From which mills came 
three courses of water in three trenches, made across the 
chalk causeway by the said Master and Keeper. Beyond 
which trenches were made three wooden bridges in that 
said causeway by the said Master and Keeper, which 
greatly wanted repair/ Now, Sir, I have already shown 
you, that in Easter Term, in 1312, these pleadings of 



204 CHRONICLES OF []a. I>. 

1302-3 were renewed against the Bridge Keeper, and the 
Master of St. Thomas of Acres, by John de Norton, the 
King's Attorney General, who charged them to repair the 
Bridges, according to the said presentment. The plead- 
ings of 1312 are recorded on Roll 95 ; and as the form 
in which they are written is full of curious historical 
matter, I shall give you a translation of the instrument 
at length. 

" * Middlesex and Essex. Our Lord Edward, the King's Fa- 
ther, in the 31st year of his reign/ — namely, 1302, in which, you 
see, -this record, on authority we cannot doubt, differs from Stow, — 
* commanded Roger de Brabanzon, William de Beresford, Roger de 
Hegham, and Stephen de Gravesend, that they should enquire who 
ought to repair the Bridges and Chalk Causeway m the King's Street 
between Stratford atte Bowe, and Ham me Stratford ; and concern- 
ing the deficiencies of support, and repairs of the same, which, 
from that Inquisition taken by a jury, namely, by twelve for 
the County of Essex, and by twelve others for the County of 
Middlesex,' standeth thus : — < They said that the Ferry over the 
-water of Luye, or Lee, at Stratford atte Bowe, was anciently accus- 
tomed to be in that place called Oldeforde, which is one league dis- 
tant from the place of both Bridges and the Causeway, that now are 
near together ; at which Ferry, many crossing over from various 
places have been plunged in the water and in danger. And when , 
afterwards, such great danger came to be made known to the Lady 
Matilda, then Queen of England, Consort of our Lord Henry the 
First, King of England, she, moved by her piety, commanded it to 
be examined how both the Bridges and the Causeway could be 
made better, and more convenient, for the utility and easement of 
the country, and the passengers over them. The which was done 
by the said Queen, who also caused two Bridges to be built ; 
namely, the Bridge over the water of Lee at the upper end of the 
town of Stratford atte Bowe,' — wuich you remember Stow says, in 
his ' Survey,' vol. i. p. 58, in the margin, and elsewhere, was 
1 the'flrst arched Bridge in England, and gave name to the Town, 
for that it was shaped like a Bow :' — ' and another Bridge over 
another trench of the same water towards Essex, which is called 
Channelesbrigge. And also one Chalk Causeway between the said 
Bridges, so that all passengers going over it, may well and securely 
cross the same. And, forasmuch as the said Queen desired, that 
the reparation and support of the aforesaid Bridges and Chalk 
Causeway should from that time be imposed, so, out of her 
charity, she bought those lands, rents, meadows, and one water- 
mill, which is called Wiggemulne,, and assigned and commanded 



1302.] LONDON BRIDGE. 105 

them to be for the repair and support of the Bridges, and the Chalk 
Causeway aforesaid. And because she believed that their repair 
and support would be better done by religious men, if they were 
thenceforward laid upon them, than by secular persons, lest that 
such secular persons themselves, or their heirs, should, in the 
course of years, be wanting, to preserve them : nor was there then 
any Religious House near to the aforesaid Bridges and Chalk 
Causeway, but the Abbey of Berkinggs, the Abbey of Stratford 
not yet being founded ; so that the aforesaid lands, rents, meadows, 
and mill, with their appurtenances, were then given to the Abbess 
of Berkinggs and her house : so that she and her successors, &c. 
should for ever sustain and repair the said Bridges. But after- 
wards, Gilbert de Mauntfichet founded the Abbey of Stratford, &c.' 
— that is to say about 1135, — ' And a certain Abbot of the same 
house bought the lands, &c. from the aforesaid Abbess, because 
they were near his Abbey, and lying, in situation, commodiously 
for his house, that is to say, however, undertaking, for himself and 
his successors, &c. the repair of the Bridges, and Chalk Causeway 
aforesaid, for the Abbess herself, &c. and farther giving to the same 
four marks of silver,' — £2. 3s. id. — ' by the Year, &c. And so 
they were found, by the same Inquisition,' — cited at the beginning 
of this instrument, — ' to be decayed, and who ought to repair the 
said Bridges and Chalk Causeway ? Upon which Inquisition, our 
Lord the King caused his writ to issue, &c. ; and upon this precept 
it is shown that the Abbot aforesaid, the Master of the House of 
the Blessed Thomas of Acre, and the Keeper of London Bridge, 
made their appearance to answer why the Bridges were not repaired, 
&c. "When the Jurors came, therefore, between the King and the 
Abbots, they said that the said Abbot was not held to repair, 
excepting the Bridge called Channeiesbrigge, and that none of his 
predecessors have, at any time, repaired the said Bridges and Chalk 
Causeway, and that not any of the lands or tenements held by him 
have been accustomed to make reparations, or support them : — 
therefore the Abbot was dismissed without a day. But another of 
the Jurors has found that it i^ the said Abbess who ought to repair 
the said Bridges. And at length/ — that is to say in 1315, — ■ an 
agreement was made between the said Abbot and Abbess, in the 
presence of the Earl of Hereford and Essex, and Chancellor of 
England ; also Chief Justice, Chief Baron, and Escheater of our 
Lord the King on this side Trent, and it was enrolled that the said 
Abbot obliges himself, and his successors, to repair for ever : for 
which the said Abbess gives to the said Abbot two hundred pounds, 
yet saving to her the annual four marks.' See the Pleadings 
before the King at Westminster, in Easter Term, 6 Edward II., 
Roll 95, 

w After this very long, though curious document, I 



106 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

have nothing farther to observe on the connexion of the 
Bridge Master of London, and his Mill and Bridge onthe 
River Lee, than that, although he at first traversed, as the 
Lawyers say, or denied his right to repair them, yet, in 
1315, the original claim was confirmed against his denial, 
as is asserted by Stow, in his ' Survey,' vol. ii. p. 25." 

" Methinks, Mr. Barnaby Postern,/ said I, " that 
before you entirely quit the connexion of the Lee River 
and London Bridge, it would not be irrelevant to speak 
somewhat of that Cantiuncula, that little song, or, as I 
may properly call it, that Lallus, for it is truly a nurse's 
song, in which they are both united." 

M You say well, Sir," answered my visitor ; " and see- 
ing that I have already spoken somewhat at length, 
- shall 1/ as Izaak Walton says, c have nothing from you, 
that seem to have both a good memory and a cheerful 
spirit V Come, then, my honoured kinsman, do you relate 
what hath been written and collected concerning that 
same Cantiuncula ; nor deem that any fragmenta, touch- 
ing the history of London Bridge, can be uninteresting ; 
wherefore, doubt not but your narrative will be to me 
like that which Adam made to Raphael : — 

1 Nor are thy lips ungraceful, Sire of men, 

Nor tongue ineloquent, — 

But thy relation now ; for I attend, 

Pleased with thy words no less than thou with mine. , ?1 

" After the deep reading and extensive knowledge," 
returned I, " which you, Mr. Postern, have displayed in 
your discourse, it is unfortunate for me to have to speak 
upon a subject, where 1 am no less perplexed by the 
paucity of materials, than by own ignorance of many 
which may be in existence. For you must know, my 
fellow- antiquary, that searching out the origin and his- 
tory of a ballad, is like endeavouring to ascertain the 
source and flight of Decembers snow; since it often 
comes we know not whence, is looked upon and noticed 
for awhile, is corrupted, or melts away, we know not 



1302.] LONDON BRIDGE. 107 

how, and thus dies unrecorded, excepting in the oral 
tradition or memory of some village crones, who yet dis- 
course of it. However, Sir, to proceed methodically, I 
will first give you the words of this very popular song ; 
then the customs and history connected with it; and, lastly, 
the musical notation to which it is most commonly sung. 
M One of the most elegant copies of this ballad you will 
find in the late Joseph Bitson's rare and curious volume, 
entitled, ' Gammer Gurton s Garland : or the Nursery 
Parnassus. A choice collection of pretty Songs, and 
Verses, for the amusement of all little good children who 
can neither read nor run/ London, 1810. 8vo. Part i., 
p. 4 ; where it is called ' The celebrated song of London 
Bridge is broken down ;' and is as follows : 

c London Bridge is broken down, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee : 
London Bridge is broken down, 

With a gay lady. 
How shah we build it up again, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee ; 
How shall we build it up again ? 

With a gay lady. 
Silver and gold will be stolen away, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee ; 
Silver and gold will be stolen away, 

With a gay lady. 
Build it up with iron and steel, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee ; 
Build it up with iron and steel, 

With a gay lady. 
Iron and steel will bend and bow, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee ; 
Iron and steel will bend and bow, 

With a gay lady. 
Build it up with wood and clay, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee ; 
Build it up with wood and clay, 

With a gay lady. 

Wood and clay will wash away, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee ; 
Wood and clay will wash away, 

With a gay lady. 



108 CHRONICLES OF [a . D. 

Build it up with stone so strong, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lee; 
Huzza ! 'twill last for ages long, 

With a gay lady. ' 

" In that treasury of singular fragments, the c Gentle- 
man s Magazine/ for September 1823, yoI. xciii., p. 232, 
there is another copy of this ballad, with some variations, 
inserted in a Letter, signed M. Green, in which there are 
the following stanzas, wanting in Ritson s and coming in 
immediately after the third verse, 4 Silver and gold will 
be stolen away;' though it must be observed, that the 
propositions for building the Bridge with iron and steel, 
and wood and stone, have, in this copy also, already been 
made and objected to. 

4 Then we must set a man to. watch, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Then we must set a man to watch, 

With a gay La-dee. 
Suppose the man should fall asleep? 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Suppose the man should fall asleep ? 

With a gay La-dee. 
Then we must put a pipe in his mouth, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Then we must put a pipe in his mouth, 

With a gay La-dee. 
Suppose the pipe should fall and hreak ? 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Suppose the pipe should fall and reak ? 

With, a gay La-dee. 
Then we must set a dog to watch, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Then we must set a dog to watch, 

With a gay La-dee. 
Suppose the dog should run away ? 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Suppose the dog should run away ? 

With a gay La-dee. 
Then w T e must chain him to a post, 

Dance o'er my Lady Lea ; 
Then we must cbaiu him to a post, 

With a gay La- dee. 



1802.] LONDON BRIDGE. 109 

" I pray you, do not fail to observe in these verses, how 
singularly and happily the burthen of the song often falls 
in with the subject of the new line : though I am haL 
inclined to think, that the whole ballad has been formed 
by many fresh additions, in a long series of years, and is, 
perhaps, almost interminable when received in all its dif- 
ferent versions. Mr. Green, in his letter which I last 
quoted, remarks, that the stanzas I have repeated to you 
are c the introductory lines of an old ballad, which, more 
than seventy years previous, he had heard plaintively 
warbled by a lady, who was born in the reign of Charles 
the Second, and who lived till nearly that of George the 
Second. Another Correspondent to the same Magazine, 
whose contribution, signed D, is inserted in the same 
volume, December, p. 507, observes, that the ballad con- 
cerning London Bridge formed, in his remembrance, part 
of a Christinas Carol, and commenced thus : 

' Dame, get up and bake your pies, 
On Christinas day in the morning : 

' The requisition,' he continues, c goes on to the Dame to 
prepare for the feast, and her answer is 

1 London Bridge is broken down, 
On Christmas day in the morning/ 

6 The inference always was, that until the Bridge was 
rebuilt, some stop would be put to the Dame's Christmas 
operations ; but why the falling of a part of London 
Bridge should form part of a Christmas Carol at New- 
castle-upon-Tyne, I am at a loss to know.' This con- 
nexion has, doubtless, long since been gathered into the 
' wallet which Time carries at his back, wherein he puts 
alms for oblivion;' though we may remark, that the history 
and features of the old bridge of that famous town had a 
very close resemblance to that of London ; as you may find 
upon reading the Rev. John Brand's c History and Antiqui- 
ties of the Town and County of the Town of Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne.' London, 1789. 4to. vol. i., pp. 31 — 53. The 



110 CHRONICLES OP j^A. D. 

chief points of resemblance between these two Bridges, 
were, that both were founded in the hidden years of 
remote antiquity ; that in each instance wooden Bridges 
preceded the stone ones ; that to each was attached a 
Chapel dedicated to St. Thomas ; that continual dilapida- 
tions and Patents for repair characterised each ; that both 
formed a street of houses, having towers, gates, and draw- 
bridges ; and, finally, that in 177J, a violent flood reduced 
the Bridge of Tyne to the same hapless state as erst 
marked that of London, when ruinated by the terrible 
fire of 17^7. Such, Mr. Postern, are the words, and 
such are the very few historical notices that I am able to 
give you, of a song, of which there is, perhaps, not a 
single dweller in the Bills of Mortality, who has not 
heard somewhat ; and yet not one of whom can tell you 
more concerning it, than that they have heard it sung 
' many years ago,' as the gossiping phrase is. If one 
might hazard a conjecture concerning it, I should refer 
its composition to some very ancient date, when London 
Bridge lying in ruins, the office of Bridge Master was 
vacant; and his power over the River Lee, — for it is 
doubtless that River which is celebrated in the chorus to 
this song, — was for a while at an end. But this, although 
the words and melody of the verses be extremely simple, 
is all uncertain; and thus, my good Sir, do general tra~ 
ditions float down the stream of time, without any fixed 
date ; for none regard them as of value enough to record, 
whilst they are yet known in all their primitive truth. 
Oh ! how many an interesting portion of History has 

been thus lost ! How many a " 

" I am glad,'' interrupted my visitor at this part of 
my apostrophe, " to find that I am not the only Anti- 
quary who is apt to be led away from narrative to rhe- 
toric ; and who is sometimes induced to declaim when he 
set out to describe. But you were speaking of the 
melody to this song, Mr, Barbican ; now I would fain 
hear it, if it live in your memory." 



1302.] LONDON BRIDGE. Ill 

" Give me a draught of sack/' said I, taking up the 
tankard, " and you shall hear it, as well as my feeble 
voice, now ' turning again to childish treble/ Mr. Postern, 
hath the skill to chant it. But look for nothing fine, 
Mr. Barnaby : here are none of Von Weber s notes ; and, 
indeed, I know of nothing which so well characterises it, 
as that fine description of a popular ballad in Twelfth 
Night : — 

1 Mark it, Csesario, it is old and plain ; 

The Spinsters, and the Knitters in the sun, 

And the free maids that weave their thread with bones, 

Do use to chant it — ' " 

" Come, my good Sir," replied Mr. Postern, il no more 
words on't, but sing, I pray you." 

" Then listen," answered I, clearing my throat to 
reach the treble C, with which the melody commences ; 
" but you must sing a part of it, as it stands in this 
paper, Master Barnaby, for it begins with the chorus; 
and so here follows the ancient Music to the Song and 
Dance of London Bridge is broken down." 

Chorus. 



m 



s 



^m 



-^ 



/— 



-^- 



Lon-don Bridge is bro-ken down : Dance o'er my La-dy Lea ! 



sHH^^^^ 



ZMZZTCL 



^ 



-'r- 



Lon-don Bridge is bro-ken down, With a gay La- dee. 
Solo: 



^Fff^^p g^i 



How shall we build it up a-gain ? Dance o'er my La-dy Lea ! 



¥ 



^ 



m 



+=FF 



I 



f£ 



^^ 



f v V 



How shall we build it up a-gain ? With a gay La- dee. 



112 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" A choice piece of simple melody, indeed," said Mr. 
Postern, as I finished the last strain of the solo, " and, 
certainly, from its extreme plainness, not unlikely to be 
of some considerable antiquity ; but you called it also a 
dance, Mr. Barbican; pray was it ever adapted to the 
feet, as well as to the tongue V 

" You shall hear, Sir," returned I, u for 1 learn from a 
Manuscript communication, from a Mr. J. Evans, of Bristol, 
which has been most kindly placed in my hands by the 
venerable proprietor of the ' Gentleman's Magazine,' and 
which enclosed the notes of the tune we have now conclud- 
ed ; that 6 about forty years ago, one moonlight night, in a 
street in Bristol, his attention was attracted by a dance 
and chorus of boys and girls, to which the words of this 
ballad gave measure. The breaking down of the Bridge 
was announced as the dancers moved round in a circle, 
hand in hand ; and the question, ' How shall we build 
it up again V was chanted by the leader, whilst the 
rest stood still/ The same correspondent also farther 
observes, that it is possible some musical critics may 
trace in these notes sundry fragments that have sailed 
down the stream of Time, beginning with ' Nancy 
Dawson,' and ' A frog he would a wooing go ;' though 
the Lament of London Bridge is certainly far, very far, 
anterior to the latter. I cannot, however, imagine, that 
the air of our ballad has more than a very distant con- 
sanguinity with either ; for the melody of Nancy Dawson 
is generally supposed not to be more than sixty years old, 
about which time its heroine nourished ; and the metre 
of that worthless song is perfectly different, each verse 
having eight lines instead of four. Now, when Isaac 
Bickerstaff produced his Opera of 6 Love in a Village,' he 
composed his 14th air, in the last Scene of the first Act, 
to that very tune ; for there the Housemaid commences 
the Finale, and thus it runs : 

' I pray ye, gentles, list to me, 
I'm young, and strong, and clean, you see, 



1305.] LONDON BRIDGE. IIS 

I'll not turn tail to any she, 

For work, that's in the county: 
Of all your house the charge I'll take, 
I wash, I scrub, I brew, I bake, 
And more can do than here I'll speak, 
Depending on your bounty.' 

w Thus you observe, my good Sir, that the verse has 
ao resemblance at all ; and the only similitude of the 
music li-es in a very few notes in the second and third 
bars of the first and fourth lines. The Adventures of 
the Frog who went a courting is certainly much more 
like the ballad of London Bridge ; but, in addition to its 
variations in the latter part, it is quite a modern compo- 
sition, and, therefore, cannot illustrate the antiquity of 
that other song, of which it is itself merely a musical 
parody." 

" My hearty thanks are due to you, Mr. Geoffrey 
Barbican," began Mr. Postern, as I concluded; " I have 
to thank you very heartily* for the agreeable manner in 
which you have contrived to carry on the history of 
London Bridge, whilst I have breathed from continuing 
my duller detail : and now, let me observe that having 
brought you down to the 31st year of the reign of 
Edward I., 1302, I shall give you a translation of what 
was, perhaps, his last and fullest Charter to London 
Bridge, in the form of a Patent of Pontage, or Bridge 
Tax, granted in 1305, the 34th year of his sovereignty ; 
which is curious, inasmuch as it enumerates so many of 
the articles of commerce in that day. The original is, of 
course, in the Tower, in the Patent Rolls for that year, 
membrane 25, entitled c Pontage for London ; and the 
Latin you may see in Hearne's ' Liber Niger,' already 
cited, volume i., page **478 : the English, no very easy 
matter to discover, is as follows : 

" * The King to his beloved the Mayor and Sheriffs, and to his 
other Citizens of London, — Greetiug. Know ye, that in aid of 
repairing and sustaining the Bridge of London, we grant that from 
the day of making these presents, until the complete end of the 

I 



114 CHRONICLES OF [a.D. 

three years next following, the underwritten customs shall, for that 
purpose, be taken of saleable goods over the Bridge aforesaid, and 
of those which cross under the same, that is to say : — of every poise, 
or weight of cheese,' — namely, 256 pounds, — * fat of tallow, and 
butter for sale, one penny. Gf. every poise of lead r for sale, one 
farthing. Gf every hundred of wax for sale, two pence. Gf every 
hundred of almonds and rice for sale, one penny. Gf every hun- 
dred of barley corn for sale, one penny. Of every hundred of 
pepper and ginger, cotewell and cinnamon, Brazil-wood, frankin- 
cense, quicksilver, vermillion and verdigrease for sale, two pence. 
Gf every hundred of cinior, alum, sugar, liquorice, syro-montanian 
aniseed, pion, and orpiment for sale, one penny. Gf every hundred 
of sulphur, orchel, ink, resin, copperas, and calamine stone for sale, 
one farthing. Gf every great frail of figs and raisins for sale, one 
half-penny ; and of every smaller frail, one farthing. Gf every 
pound of dates, musk nuts, mace, the drug cubebs, saffron , and 
cotton for sale, one farthing. Gf every store butt of ginger for sale, 
one penny. Gf every hundred weight of copper, brass, and tin, for 
sale, one halfpenny. Gf every hundred weight of glass for sale, 
one farthing. Of every thousand of the best Gris, or grey squirrel 
skins dressed,' — the famous Vaire fur you remember, — ' for sale, 
twelve pence. Of every thousand of red skins dressed, for sale, six 
pence. Gf every thousand bark-skins for sale, four pence. Of 
every hundred of rabbits for sale, one halfpenny. For every tim- 
bria' — an ancient Norman law phrase, signifying a certain number 
of precious skins, — ' of wolves' skins for sale, one halfpenny. For 
every fimbria of coats for, sale, one halfpenny.. For every twelfth 
gennet-skin for sale, one halfpenny. For every hundredth sbeep- 
skin of wool for sale, one penny. Of every hundredth lamb-skin 
and goat-skin for sale, one halfpenny. Of every twelfth aHcum* — 
a kind of vest with sleeves, — 'for sale, one penny. Of every 
twelfth Basane? — this old Norman word, you know, meant either 
a purse, or shoe, or any thing made of tanned leather, — * for sale, 
one halfpenny. Of every quarter of woad,' — the famous blue dye, 
— ' for sale, one halfpenny. Of every dole/ — a Saxon word 
signifying a part or portion, — ' of honey for sale, six pence. Of 
every dole of wine, six pence. Of every dole of corn, crossing over 
the Bridge, the same going into countries beyond the sea, one 
penny. Of every bowl of salt for sale, one penny. Of every mill- 
stone for grinding, for sale,, two pence. Of every twelfth hand- 
mill for sale, one penny. Of every smith's mill for sale,' — perhaps 
a forge or grindstone, — ' one farthing* Of every dole of ashes and 
of fish for sale, one halfpenny. Of every hundredth board of oak, 
coming from parts beyond the seas for sale, one halfpenny. Of 
every hundred of fir boards, coming from parts beyond the seas for 



1305.] LONDON BRIDGE. 125 

sale, two pence. Of every twenty sheafs of wooden staves and 
arrow heads, for sale, one halfpenny. Of a quarter of a hundred 
of pountandemir for sale, one penny. For all noises laden with 
serge, stuff, grey cloth and dyed cloth for sale, one penny. Of 
every hundred ells of linen cloth, coming from parts beyond the 
seas, for sale, one penny. Of every twelfth poplorum,' — mantle 
or carpet, — ' for sale, one halfpenny. Of every silk or gold cloth, 
for sale, one halfpenny. , Of all satins and cloths worked with gold,. 
two pence. Of every twelfth piece of fustian for sale, one penny. 
Of every piece of sendal,'— thin Cyprus silk, — ' embroidered, for 
sale, one farthing ; and of every other two sendals for sale, one 
farthing. Of every pound of woven cloth eoming from parts beyond 
the seas, six pence. Of every hundred pounds weight of Bateriaf 
—beaten work of metal, — ' namely, of basins, platters, drinking 
pots, and cups, for sale, one penny. Of all Flanders cloth bound, 
and embroidered, for sale, two pence. Of every Estanford,' — a 
species of cloth made at Stanfort, — c for sale, from the same parts, 
one penny. Of every twelfth pair of nether-stocks, for sale, coming 
from the same parts, one halfpenny. Of every hood for sale, one 
penny. Of every piece of Borrell,' — coarse cloth, — ' coming from 
Normandy, or elsewhere, one halfpenny. Of every twelfth Monk's 
cloth, black or white, one penny. Of every trussell cloth,' — per- 
haps a horse-cloth — ' for sale, the same coming from parts beyond 
the seas, eighteen pence. Of all English dyed cloth and russet for 
sale, excepting scarlet, crossing the Bridge for the selling of the 
same, two pence. Of all scarlets for sale, six pence. Of all thin, 
or summer cloth, for sale, coming from Stamford or Northampton, 
or from other places in England, crossing the same, one penny. 
Of every twelfth chalonum^— which is to say, a carpet or hang- 
ings, — ' set for sale, one penny. Of every pound of other mer- 
chandise for sale, crossing the same, and not expressed above, four 
pence. Of every ship-load of sea-coal for sale, six pence. Of 
every ship-load of turf for sale, two pence. Of every scitata of 
underwood for sale, two pence. Of every small boat-load of under- 
wood for sale, one penny. Of every scitata of hay for sale, two 
pence. Of every quarter of corn for sale crossing the same, one 
farthing. For two quarters of white corn, barley, mixed corn, 
pease, and beans, for sale, one farthing. For a quarter of a semej 
— a horse load, or eight bushels — ' of oats for sale, one penny. 
For two quarters of groats, and brewers' grains for sale, one farthing. 
For every horse for sale, of the price of forty shillings and more, 
one penny. For every horse for sale, of a price less than forty shil- 
lings, one halfpenny. For every ox and cow for sale, one halfpenny* 
For six swine for sale, one halfpenny. For ten sheep for sale, one 
halfpenny. For five bacon hogs for sale, one halfpennv ; and for 
i2 



116 CHRONICLES OF [_A. D. 

ten pervis for sale, one halfpenny. Of every small boat which 
works in London for hire, and crosses by the same, one penny. Of 
every cart freighted with fish for sale, crossing the same, one penny. 
For the hull of every great ship freighted with goods for sale, 
excepting these present, crossing by the same, two pence. For the 
hull of every smaller ship freighted with the same goods, excepting 
these present, one penny. For every little boat loaden, one half- 
penny. For every twelfth salted salmon for sale, one penny. For 
twenty-five milnell for sale, one halfpenny. For one hundred 
salted haddocks for sale, one halfpenny. For one hundred salted 
mackerel for sale, one farthing. For every thousand of salted 
herrings for sale, one farthing. For every twelfth salted lamprey 
for sale, one penny. Of every thousand salted eels for sale, one 
halfpenny. Of every hundred pounds of large fish for sale, one 
penny. Of every hundred pieces of sturgeon for sale, two pence. 
For every hundred of stockfish, one farthing. For every horse-load 
of onions for sale, one farthing. For every horse- load of garlic for 
sale, one farthing. And of every kind of merchandise not here 
mentioned, of the price of twenty shillings, one penny. And, 
therefore, we command you, that the said customs be taken, until 
the aforesaid term of three years be completed; but at that term, 
the aforesaid customs shall cease, and be altogether taken away. 
In which, &c. for their lasting the term aforesaid, Witness the 
King, at Winchester, the seventh dav of May. Bv writ of Privy 
SealV 

" Such, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, is a tolerably exact 
translation of this long and very curious Patent of Pont- 
age for London Bridge ; but a perfect rendering of it into 
English is a matter attended with more than usual diffi- 
culty ; since it is composed of set many barbarous Anglo- 
Norman nouns, with Latin terminations attached to 
them ; of quaint legal phrases, of which Fortescue and 
Rastall must be the interpreters ; and of numerous arti- 
cles of which both the names and the nature are to us 
almost utterly unintelligible. However, Sir, I here give 
it you to the best of my poor skill ; and in doing so, let 
me add to it the apologetical words of your namesake and 
fellow-citizen, the amiable old Chaucer : — c Now pray I 
to them all that hearken this treatise, or rede, that if 
there be any thing that liketh them, that thereof they 
thank Htm, of whom proceedeth all w T it and goodness. 
And if there be any thing that displease them, I pray 



1305.] LONDON BRIDGE. 117 

them also that they arrette it to the default of mine 
unknonnyng, and not to my will, that would fain have 
said better if I had knowing.' " 

" Doubtless, Mr. Postern," answered I, " my civilities 
are at the least due to you, for the labour you bestow 
'upon me ; but yet I must be so plain as to tell you, that 
your Pontage Patent reminded me mightily of a Table 
of Tolls afc a Turnpike-Gate, whereon we read, ' For 
every horse, mare, gelding, or mule, laden, or unladen, 
not drawing, two pence/ So again, and again, I say, let 
me have stories, man ! I want stories ! ' for,' as Oliver 
Goldsmith said of old to the Ghost of Dame Quickly, ' if 
you have nothing but tedious remarks to communicate, 
seek some other hearer : I am determined to hearken only 
to stories/ " 

" Be of a sweet temper, however you may be dis- 
appointed, Mr. Geoffrey," replied the old Gentleman ; 
" if I possessed the wit either of honest Oliver, or the 
Ghost of Mistress Quickly, you should, indeed, be enter- 
tained ; but, seeing that we lack humour, we must make 
it up in the real, though somewhat dull, formula of past 
days. This time, I have, however, a romantic scene for 
you in petto, and even now we have arrived at a point 
of the history of London Bridge, which, when skilfully 
managed, with a- little fiction, has drawn tears from many 
an eye, and awakened an interest in many a heart : I 
mean the capture and death of the brave and unfortunate 
Sir William Wallace. 

* Joy, joy in London now ! 
He goes, the rebel Wallace goes to death ; 
At length the traitor meets a traitor's doom. 

Joy, joy in London now !' 

" It was after the return of the fourth expedition of 
King Edward I. into Scotland, about the beginning of 
August, 1805, that London Bridge was defaced, by the 
placing upon it the trophies of his vengeance. Matthew 
of Westminster, in his ' Flowers of Histories,' which I 



118 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

have already cited to you, tells the sorrowful story of 
Sir William Wallace's execution, in his Second Book, 
p. 451 ; beginning at ' Hie vir Belial ',' — for he treats the 
Scottish hero with but little reverence, — and in plain 
English thus runs the narrative. ' This man of Belial, 
after innumerable crimes, was at last taken by the King's' 
officers, and, by his command, was brought up to be 
judged by himself, attended by the Nobles of the king- 
dom of England, on the Vigil of St. Bartholomew's day/ 
— the 23rd of August, — s where he was condemned to 
a most cruel, yet most worthy death. Firstly, he was 
drawn at the tail of a horse through the fields of London, 
to a very lofty gibbet, erected for him, upon which he 
was hung with a halter ; afterwards, he was taken down 
half dead, embo welled, and his intestines burned by fire; 
lastly, his head was cut off, and set upon a pole on London 
Bridge, whilst the trunk was cut into four quarters. His 
body, thus divided, was sent into four parts of Scotland. 
Behold ! such was the unpitied end of this man, whom 
want of pity brought to such a death !* 

" The head of the gallant but ill-fated Wallace was 
not, however, the only ghastly spectacle upon London 
Bridge ; for the Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts, 
under the Number 2253, has the following notice at 
art. 25 : — ' A long Ballad against the Scots, many of whom 
are here mentioned by name, as also many of the English, 
besides the King and Prince, But, particularly of Wil- 
liam Walleys, taken at the Battle of Dunbar, a. d. 1305, 
and of Simon Frisell, — or Fraser, — taken at the Battle of 
Kyrkenclyf, a. d. 1306, both of whom were punished as 
traitors to our King Edward I. and their heads set among 
others of their countrymen upon London Bridge* The 
passage w T hich immediately concerns our purpose, you 
will find at fol. 61 a, and, in its own rude dialect, thus it 
runs: — 

" ' With feters and with gyues ichot he wos to drowe, 
Pfrom the tour of Londone that monie myght knowe, 



1505.] LONDON BRIDGE. 110 

Jn a curtel of burel aselkethe wyse 

Thurh Cheepe ; 
And a gerland on hys heued. of the newe guyse : 
Monimon of Engefand — for to se Sxmond 

Thideward con lepe. 
Tho he com to galewes, furst he wos an honge, 
Al qc. beheued, thah him thohte longe ; 
Seththe he was vopened, is boweles ybrend, 
The heued to londone brugge wos send 

To shonde ; 
So ich ever mote the — sum while wende he 

Ther Intel to stonde. 
He rideth thourth the site as J tell may, 
TVith gomen and with solas that wos here play, 
To londone brugge hee nome the way ; 
Moni was the wyues chil' that ther on loketh a day., 

And seide alas! 
That he was \bore — and so villiehe foiiore 

So feir mon as he wos ! 
Kow stont the heued above the tubrugge, 
Fast bi Waleis soth for to sugge." 

" Now, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, as these barbarous 
rhymes are but just intelligible, even to an Antiquary, 
by a very careful reading and consideration, you will, I 
dare say, excuse me, if I give you a paraphrase of them 
in modern prose ; which would be expressed somewhat in 
this manner. — With fetters and with leg-irons I wot that 
he was drawn from the Tower of London that many 
might know it ; dressed in a short coat of coarse cloth, 
through Cheapside, having on his head a garland of the 
last fashion ; and many Englishmen, to see Simon Frisel, 
began to run thither. Then was he brought to the gibbet, 
and first being hung, he was also beheaded, which he 
thought it long ere he endured it. After, he was opened, 
and his bowels burned ; but his head was sent to London 
Bridge, to affright beholders : so ever might I thrive, as 
that once he little thought to stand there. He rides 
through the City, as I may well tell you, with game and 
gladness around him, which was the rejoicing of his 
enemies, and he took the way to London Bridge. Many 
were the wives' children that looked upon him, and said, 



120 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

Alas, that he was born ! and so vilely forsaken, so ter- 
rible a man as he was ! Now the head stands above the 
Town bridge, close to that of Wallace, truly to say. 

" Such is this ballad account of the matter ; and, in 
quitting my notice of the manuscript that contains it, I 
have but to say, that it is written on old discoloured 
parchment, in a square gothic text, the ink of which is 
turned brown by time, with many contractions, and much 
vile spelling ; and that its other contents are all exceed- 
ingly curious and valuable ; and, as the c Harleian Cata- 
logue,' vol. i., at p. 585, tells us, they are c partly in old 
French, partly in Latin, and partly in English, partly in 
verse, and partly in prose/ You will find, however, the 
whole of this long Poem printed in the late Joseph 
Ritsons interesting volume, entitled, 'Ancient Songs 
from the time of King Henry the Third to the Revolu- 
tion,' London, 1790, 8vo. ? pages 5 — 18. Maitland him- 
self also relates the fate of Sir William Wallace, at p. 109 
of his c History,' verifying his narrative by references to 
several of the Cloisteral Historians; nor does there, I 
believe, exist any earlier notice of the Tower on London 
Bridge having been used for the terrific purpose of exhibit- 
ing the heads of such as were executed for High Treason, 
which procured for it the name of Traitors' Gate. You 
will remember I have already proved that edifices were 
standing upon London Bridge at a very early period; 
and, were it required, here is an additional proof of it, 
not to be disputed. Stow, when he is speaking of the 
Towers upon the Bridge, in his ' Survey,* vol. i. pages 
61 and 64, gives us not a word concerning their age, so 
of that I must treat hereafter, when we come down to 
the years in which they were repaired, or rebuilt ; and I 
will, therefore, here remark only, that the heads were 
at this time erected on a Tower at the North end, and 
that they were not removed to the Southern extremity, 
where they so long remained, until about the year 1579. 

" 1 am for your sake, my good friend, truly sorry that 



1323.] LONDON BRIDGE. 121 

ray next notice of London Bridge must be another Patent 
Roll, of the 14th year of King Edward II. ,— 1320,— 
Part the First, Membrane the 19th ; but, it shows, at any 
rate, the state of the edifice in that year : and you will 
find it referred to in Stow's ' Survey/ vol. i. p. 60 ; in 
Maitland's ' History,' vol. i. p. 47 ; in the original Latin 
in Hearne's 'Liber Niger/ vol. i. p. *477 ; and in English 
it ran as follows. 

" * Concerning the subsidies of the Messengers for the work of 
the Bridge of London, complaining to be admitted. 

" ' The King to the Archhishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, 
Rectors, and all other Ministers of the Holy Mother Church, to 
whom these presents shall come, — greeting. Seeing that, even 
now, so many evils, — not only in the loss of goods, but that innu- 
merable bodies of men are in peril through the ruin of the 
Bridge at London, — are likely soon to come to pass, if that they 
should not be taken away: we, being willing to provide against 
this kind of dangers, and to take care of the public and private 
interests, do desire you, when the keepers of the costly work of the 
Bridge aforesaid, or their messengers, whom we undertake specially 
to protect and defend, shall ccme to collect every where throughout 
your Dioceses, Rectories, or any other of your jurisdictions, aids for 
the said work from the pious and the devout, you do, in friendship, 
admit them, from the contemplation of God, the regard of charity, 
and for evidence of devotion in this matter : admitting them to ex- 
cite the people by their pious persuasions, and charitably to invoke 
the assistance of their alms for the reparation of the Bridge afore- 
said. Not bringing upon them, nor permitting to be brought upon 
them, any injuries, molestations, damage, impediment, or grievance. 
And if any thing shall have been forfeited by them, amends shall 
be made without delay. In testimonial of which, &c. Witness 
the King, atLangele, the Thirteenth day of August/ 

" A much more curious instrument than this, how- 
ever, is recorded on the Patent Rolls of the 17th Year of 
Edward II.,— 1323,— Part the Second, Membrane 9; 
inasmuch as it particularises several parts of the Bridge 
property in the ancient Stocks Market, of which we 
should now be without the knowledge, if it had not been 
for the careful enumeration of them which is here con- 
tained. You will see, that this confirmatory instrument 
has particular reference to one which I have already 



122 CHRONICLES OF £a. D, 

rehearsed to you, and that it is of that kind, commonly 
called an Inspeocimus, from the^Latin word used in their 
commencement, meaning, ' we have seen,' because the 
words of the original Charter are there repeated. This 
Patent is entitled ' For the Keepers of the Bridge of 
London;' the original Latin may be seen on p. *482 of 
Hearne's i Liber Niger,' vol i. ; and the English of it 
runs in the following terms : 

" ' The King to all to whom, &c. greeting. We have seen a Charter 
belonging to the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City 
of London, written in these words : — ( To all the faithful in Christ 
to whom these present letters shall come, Hamo de ChiggewelJ, 
Mayor, the Aldermen, and the whole Commonalty of the City of 
London, greeting ;■' Know ye that as the Lord Edward, formerly 
King of England, of famous memory, father of our Lord the King 
that now is, in the tenth year of his reign, granted for himself and 
his heirs, to Henry le Waleys, then Mayor, and the Commonalty of 
the City aforesaid, that those places contiguous to the wall of the 
burial place of the Church of Wolchurch, on the North part of 
the Parish of the same Church, should be built upon and rented 
for the support of the Bridge of London, according as they should 
see to be expedient for their commodity, and that of this great 
City; and that the said places, so built upon and rented, should be 
held by themselves, and their heirs, for the support of the Bridge 
aforesaid, for ever, even as in the aforesaid letters is fully con- 
tained. And the before-mentioned Henry, the Mayor, and the 
Commonalty of the City aforesaid, for the common profit of their 
City, have built and constructed that house upon the places afore- 
said, and have called it the Stokkes, and they have ordained the 
same for the Butchers and Fishmongers selling therein, as in a place 
situated nearly in the midst of the City ; and the rents from the 
stalls are assigned for the increasing and support of the aforesaid 
Bridge. For the Stalls of the Butchers and of the Fishmongers, 
may not be permitted, excepting, namely, in the broad way of 
Bridge Street, of East Cheap, and in the way of Old Fish Street, 
and the Butcher Row on the West, in the Parish of St. Nicholas ; 
even as it was anciently accustomed to be, according to the ordi- 
nance and disposal of the aforesaid Henry, and the then Common 
Council of the City aforesaid, as in this part we have seen fully to 
be preserved : at which time the Butchers and Fishmongers sold 
their flesh and fish in the same, and in none other of the conti- 
guous places and neighbourhoods, excepting the streets before 
mentioned, and the rents of the said stalls w r ere carried to the 



1323.] LONDON BRTDGE. 123 

keepers of the said Bridge, who, for a time, returned them in aid 
of the support of the said Bridge. But we, the aforesaid Mayor 
and Aldermen, lately receiving the complaint of John Sterre and 
Roger Atte-Wynne, Keepers of the Bridge aforesaid, that the 
Butchers and Fishmongers of the City aforesaid, who ought to 
stand to sell their flesh and fish in the place aforesaid, have 
accustomed themselves to diminish the rents of the aforesaid, con- 
triving another stall for selling their flesh and fish, at the top of 
King Street, and in other contiguous places and neighbourhoods 
without the house aforesaid, that such persons for stalls existing 
within the house aforesaid, pay nothing, against the ordinance in 
this article formerly provided ; and by their own authority they 
have prepared, and have sold their flesh and fish ; by which the 
rents aforesaid, on which, in great part, the maintenance of the 
aforesaid Bridge exists, will be immensely reduced. Upon which 
the said keepers supplicate us for their remedy, to be by us ap- 
plied. And we having considered this, whether that such kinds of 
sales may any longer be tolerated in the Bridge aforesaid, and in 
the aforesaid City, as, to all crossing by that Bridge, peril and 
damage may manifestly happen : and also this, that our Lord the 
King, by his writ, hath given it in command, that those things 
which in the premises are least according to custom, and against 
the aforesaid ordinance, should be attempted to be corrected and 
amended, and in their original state rebuilt, — we should build. 
And being willing to provide against such kinds of damages and 
perils, and to be obedient in all things to the commands of our 
Lord aforesaid, we have caused to be called before us the Butchers 
and Fishmongers aforesaid, and also those that have sold their 
flesh and fish in other contiguous places and neighbourhoods, with- 
out the house aforesaid, against the aforesaid ordinance ; and in 
the discourse which we have held, there was nothing which they 
have said in this matter, nor have known to be said, by which the 
said ordinance ought to be invalidated, but they have petitioned 
that the ordinance and agreement formerly made in this article 
might be observed. "We therefore looked at the ordinance for this 
kind of sales, and the ancient customs, and saw the agreement of 
the aforesaid Henry le Waleys, then Mayor, concerning this kind 
of sales, made and ordained by the consent of the whole Com- 
monalty ; and by our general consent, and that of the whole 
Commonalty aforesaid, we have agreed, and granted, that the 
aforesaid ancient ordinances and agreements concerning this kind 
of sales, be, for the future, firmly and permanently established : 
so that if any shall have offended, or have spoken against the afore- 
said ancient ordinances and customs, they shall, firstly, lose the 
thing exposed for sale ; and, secondly, they shall lose the liberty of 



124 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the aforesaid City, according to the laws and customs of the same 
City, as hath been anciently accustomed to be done. And because 
it is useful that we revolve excellent things which are departed, 
and ancient things lying obscured to lead into light, that by the 
same the memory of perishable matters may be recalled to sense, 
and offenders themselves be made to abstain from evil actions on 
account of their perpetual memory, for the strengthening of these 
presents we have caused to be attached to them the Common Seal 
of our City aforesaid, under the custody of the aforesaid keepers, 
and of the succeeding keepers, who, for the time, have been, and 
are for ever to be preserved. Given in Guildhall, London, before 
the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty aforesaid, on Saturday 
next after the Feast of Saint Valentine/ — February the 14th, — 
* in the seventeenth Year of the reign of King Edward the son of 
King Edward. — We have also granted and confirmed the ordi- 
nances, agreements, contracts, and grants aforesaid, and all other 
things contained in the aforesaid writing, having established and 
acknowledged them for us and our heirs, so much as in us lies, 
as the aforesaid writing may fairly witness. In testimony of which, 
&c. Witness the King, at the Tower of London, the 16th day of 
June. For a fine of ten marks : ' — that is to say the sum of 
£6. 13*. id. 

" Before entering upon the tumultuous reign of Richard 
II., I must observe to you, Mr. Barbican, that in the 
Patent Roll for the 42nd of Edward III.-— 1368,— 
Membrane 21, there is a sort of memorandum of a 
transfer of a piece of ground from the Friars Minors for 
the support of London Bridge, the title of which is 
couched in the following terms : 4 The Guardians of the 
Friars Minors of London remit for ever to the Mayor, 
&c. of London, one portion of land on the Southern side 
of the Church within Newgate, in London, for the 
support of the Bridge at London, they giving for the 
same, to the Abbot of Westminster, the sum of four 
shillings, the which is contained in divers covenants : 
the King hath confirmed it/ 

" Well I" said I to Mr. Postern, on his conclusion of 
these Patents, " this succession of your dull and never- 
ending Charters would weary the patience of the most 
phlegmatic Dutch Lawyer that ever studied at Leyden. 



1381.] LONDON BRIDGE. 125 

Come there any more of them, my honest friend ? or 
may we yet look out for land, after so long tossing in the 
wide sea of the Tower Records?" 

" Tranquillise your perturbed feelings, my good Sir," 
replied Mr. Barnaby, u for we are now drawing very 
rapidly towards that time, when we can give only mere 
facts, and descriptive scenes of history, unsupported by 
any of those curious and unquestionable proofs which 
these evidences furnish. Not but that there are, doubt- 
less, yet many scores of most interesting papers and 
Charters concerning this Bridge, preserved in the Close 
Rolls, the ' Rotuli Chartaram,' the Patent Rolls, and 
the vast body of the Records of this kingdom : but life 
is too short, and the search would be too long, to discover 
them all ; though I would, for your sake, that I knew 
them better, and could delight your ears with their 
recital." 

" God forbid ! Mr. Postern," ejaculated I, " that you 
should bestow all your tediousness upon me ! for truly, 
from that which you have recited, I have some concep- 
tion of what the whole must be ; and I would rather 
entreat you now to pass on to some of those same ' facts, 
and descriptive scenes of history/ which you seem to 
undervalue so much, because they do not drag a weari- 
some Patent Roll after them. Therefore once more, 
Master Barnaby, I say, give me a tale." 

" Well," returned he, " as we have now arrived at 
rather an eventful period, perhaps you will begin to be 
more gratified ; and here let me remark that the gate of 
London Bridge being so advantageous, as well as so 
immediate, an entrance into the very heart of the City, 
was too often the favourite passage by which the rebels 
of ancient days marched into the bowels of our hapless 
land. I have already given you one instance of this, in 
speaking of the Baronial Wars of the days of King 
Henry III.; and now, when we have arrived at the 
Year 1381, the 5th of Richard II., we find another 



126 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

melancholy instance of it in the insurrection of Wat 
Tyler. Stow notices this but very slightly in his 
' Survey,' vol. i. p. 61 : though, in his ' Annals/ to 
which he there refers, p. 283, he gives a much 
more full account of their proceedings on London 
Bridge, taken chiefly from the ' Chronicle ' of Thomas 
Walsingham, a native of Norfolk, and a Monk of St. 
Albans Abbey, who lived in the time of Henry VI., and 
died in 1440 ; his history commencing at the end of the 
reign of King Henry III. His principal work, entitled 
4 Chronica Thomse Walsingham, quondam Monachi Sancti 
Albani,' will be found in William Camden's 4 Anglica, 
Normannica, Hibernica, Cambrica, a Veteribus Scripta,' 
Frankfurt, 1603, fol. ; where, on p. 249 you will find his 
account of it ; but, however, well take the English one 
of old Stow, from the page which I have already cited. 

ie i On which day,' says he, meaning Thursday, the Feast of 
Corpus Christi, — or June the 1 3th, — ' also in the morning, the 
Commons of Kent brake downe the stew-houses neare to London 
Bridge, at that time in the hands of the frowes of Flanders, who 
had farmed them of the Mayor of London. After which, they 
went to London Bridge, in hope to have entred the Citty ; but 
the Maior,' — the famous Sir "William Walworth, you remember, — 
' comming thither before, fortified the place, caused the Bridge to 
be drawne vp, and fastened a great chaine of yron a crosse, to 
restraine their entry. Then the Commons of Surrey, who were 
risen with other, cried to the Wardens of the Bridge to let it 
downe, whereby they mought passe, or else they would destroy 
them all, whereby they were constrained for feare to let it down, 
and give them entry, at which time the religious present/ — perhaps 
he means the Brethren of the Bridge,- — ' were earnest in proces- 
sion and prayer for peace. , 

As this fragment of History brought to my recollection 
a point of Heraldical inquiry, which I had long considered, 
I here interrupted my visitor in the following words. 

" I cannot, Mr. Barnaby Postern, turn from the days 
of that most notorious rebel, Wat Tyler, without briefly 
noticing the dispute concerning the Armorial Ensigns of 
our goodly City, which claim to have had an honourable 



1381.] LONDON BRIDGE. 127 

augmentation arising from the gallantry of the Lord 
Mayor of that period. If rhyme might pass for reason 
and argument, we should then be assured of the origin 
of the City's Dagger, from the evidence afforded by those 
verses, which are inscribed beneath Walworth's effigy in 
the Fishmongers' Hall, above us ; and which run — 

1 Brave Walworth, Knight, Lord Mayor, yet slew 

Rebellious Tyler in Lis alarmes ; 
The King therefore did give in lieu 

The dagger to the City's Arms. 

In the fourth Year of Richard II., Anno Domini 1381.' 

rf This, however,, can stand for nothing, and the 
arguments for, and against, the popular reason for the 
introduction of the weapon, are best learned from the 
ancient English Chronicles and Historians of London. 
The principal Authors who assert that King Richard 
added the Dagger to commemorate the loyal valour of 
Walworth, are Richard Grafton, in his c Chronicle at 
large, and meere History of the AfFayres of Englande, and 
Kinges of the same,' London, 1569, fol., p. 340; in the 
Margin : Raphael Holinshed, in his ' Chronicles of 
England, Scotland, and Ireland,' London, 1586, vol. U. 
p. 436 : John Speed, in his ; Theatre of the Empire of 
Great Britaine,' London, 1611, fol., vol. ii., p. 596; and 
Sir Richard Baker, in his ' Chronicle of the Kings of 
England,' London, 1733, fol., p. 140. 

" Such are the assertors of this very common legend ; 
and the evidence against it, is given, firstly by old Stow, 
in his ' Survey,' vol. i. p. 506, at that part of it where he 
is treating of Walworth's Monument, in the Church of 
St. Michael, Crooked Lane. He there states, you know, 
that, in the fourth Year of King Richard II., — 1380, — 
it was determined, in a Court of the Aldermen and 
Common Council of the City, that the old seal of the 
Mayoralty of London should be destroyed, and a new 
one, engraven with greater skill, then be provided. The 
device upon the new seal consisted of the effigies of 



128 CHRONICLES OF £ A. D. 

the Saints Peter and Paul, with the Blessed Virgin above 
them, supported between two Angels, under as many 
tabernacles. Beneath the feet of the Saints were the 
Armorial Ensigns of the City, supported by two Lions, 
and two Serjeants at Arms. Now, Stow's deductions 
from this fact are, firstly, that as the Mayor is not called 
by any title of Knighthood in this Seal, it was made 
before he received that dignity, and, therefore, before his 
gallant action in Smithfield, or, the augmentation could 
have been made to the City Arms. Secondly, he argues, 
that the Arms were the same in the old seal as in the 
new, and [that consequently, the weapon was not the 
dagger of Walworth,* but the sword of St. Paul; for 
when the turbulent Robert Fitz- Walter was Banner- 
bearer to the City of London, his standard was red, 
charged with the image of St. Paul in gold, holding a 
sword, which, together with the head, hands, and feet of 
the effigy, was silver. These particulars you will also 
find in Stow's c Survey,' vol. L p. 65 ; and such is the 
attempt of this worthy historian to prove the weapon to 
have been the sword of St. Paul's Martyrdom, at Aquae 
Salvias, on the 29th of June, a. d. 66. Now, since that 
holy Martyr is oftentimes called, by the more ancient 
writers, c the titularie patron of London,' and since her 
ehiefest metropolitan fane was, so early as 610, dedicated 
to his ever- fragrant memory, there is nothing impossible, 
or even unlikely, in all this : and that it should have 
been so, certainly arises from the circumstance that 
6 Paul preached in the Islande of Britaine, which cannot 
be doubted; seeing both Sophronius, Patriarche of 
Jerusalem, and Theodoret, an ancient Doctor of the 
Chvrche, doe affirm e and approve the same, saying that 
Fishers, Publicans, and the Tent-maker,' — St. Paul, see 
Acts xviii. 3, — 4 which brought the evangelical light unto 
all nations, revealed the same unto the Britaines.' 

" The only authority adduced by Stow for the sup- 
port of his novel hypothesis concerning the Dagger of 



1S81.] LONDON BRIDGE. 129 

London, is a Manuscript preserved in the City Chamber, 
and called ' Liber Dunthorne,' from William Dunthorne, 
the name of its author. It is, in form, a large folio 
volume, written in a very fair, small, black law text, on 
vellum ; and its contents are ancient Civic Laws, com- 
mencing with the series of the City Charters, in the first 
of which, granted by William I., the initial W contains 
an illumination of the effigy of- St. Paul, as already 
described. I will add only, that this venerable register is 
bound in wood, covered with rough calf leather, and 
garnished with brass bosses and clasps, now black with 
age ; whilst on the cover, under a plate of horn, sur- 
rounded by a metal frame, is a piece of parchment bear- 
ing the name ' Dvnthorne/ 

" Notwithstanding, however, that the effigy of the 
most glorious Apostle St. Paul might be advanced into 
the banner of London, I think it still probable that the 
ancient Civic Armorial Ensigns were a White Shield 
bearing a Red Cross, having the first quarter either 
imcharged, or charged, as a distinction from the multi- 
tudes of places and persons which adopted the same 
insignia. For you may observe, that the Cross was 
anciently and commonly used by all Christians as their 
badge ; some Heralds deriving its introduction from the 
Emperor Constantine the Great, and others from so holy 
a person as Joseph, the Son of Joseph of Arimathea; who 
being the first preacher of Christianity in Britain, when 
dying, drew with his own blood a red cross on a white 
banner, and promised victory to its followers, whilst they 
continued in the Christian faith. There is also much 
mystical meaning in this plain, yet noble ensign; for 
' the white shielde,' says a very ancient and interesting 
author, c betokeneth purenes of life, and the crosse, the 
bludd that Christ shed for us, his especialle people of 
Englande/ — ' King Arthur/ too, says John Bossewell, in 
his very rare and curious ; Workes of Armorie,' London, 
1597, small 4to, Part 2, p. 22a, 'that mightie Con- 
ic 



130 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

querour and worthie, had so great affection and loue to 
this signe, that he left his Amies which he hare before, 
and assumpted, or tooke to his Amies, as proper to his 
desire, a Crosse siluer, in a field vert ; and on the first 
quarter thereof, was figured an Image of our Lady, with 
her Sonne in her Amies. And bearing that signe, he did 
many marueiles in Armes, as in his books of Acts and 
valiant Conquests are remembred. Thus/ adds he, 6 in 
olde time it may be perceiued what Princes thought of 
the Crosse/ Now, without believing this origin to its 
utmost extent, we may nevertheless learn thereby, of how 
great antiquity is the bearing of that most honourable 
Ordinary ; ' whose godly observation,' says John Guillim, 
in his c Display of Heraldry,' best edition, by James 
Coats, London, 1724, fol. p. 51, c was in great use in the 
primitive Church ; though, in later times, it hath been 
dishonourably entertained by two kinds of fantastics ; the 
one, who so superstitiously doat on it that they adore it 
like their God ; the other, who so unchristianly detest it, 
that they slander the most godly and ancient use thereof 
in our first initiating unto Christ, as if it were some devil- 
ish idol. But the true soldiers of such a captain, need 
not to be ashamed to bear his ensign/ 

" There is also yet another historical reason given why 
the Red Cross of St. George should be so often adopted 
in England ; for it is related, that when Robert, Duke of 
Normandy, the son of our King William L, was prosecut- 
ing his victories against the Turks, and laying siege to the 
famous city of Antioch, a.d. 1098, it was almost relieved 
by a considerable army of Saracens. In this difficulty 
there appeared the beatific vision of St. Demetrius, St. 
Mercurius, and St. George, coming down from the moun- 
tains of Syria ; the latter being clothed entirely in white, 
and bearing a Red Cross on his banner, and at the head 
. of an innumerable reinforcement ; which miraculous 
interference not only reanimated the Christians, but also 
caused the infidels to fly, and the Crusaders to possess 



1381.] LONDON BRIDGE. 181 

themselves of the City. This legend is related by Mat- 
thew Paris, a Monk of St. Albans, in the 13th century, 
in his ; Historia Major,' Paris, 1644, fol. p. 29 : and it 
consequently made St. George to become exceedingly 
famous at that time ; and to be esteemed a patron, not of 
the English only, but of Christianity itself. 

" So much, Mr. Barnaby, for the use of the Cross in 
our City Arms ; and as to the distinction borne in the 
first quarter, there are some who hold the belief that the 
Roman letter L once occupied the place of the sword. 
This story appears to have originated with a Mr. William 
Smith, a merchant of London, who was created Rouge 
Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, on October 22, 1597. As 
he had travelled much on the Continent, and ' was 
honest, of a quiet conversation, and well-languaged/ the 
Officers of the Heralds' College solicited to have him 
joined to their society ; and it was from the reminiscences 
of his former travels, that he was enabled to state the 
following particulars concerning the original distinction 
attached to the City Arms, wherein he opposes the hypo- 
thesis of Stow. — ' The Auncient Amies of the Cittie of 
London, as they stand in (the uppermost North Window 
of) our Lady Church at Andwerp, in which Church 
windowes stand the effigies of King Edward the Third, 
and all his children ; with most of the Armes of the Cor- 
porate Townes of England at that tyme ; and this stand- 
eth first, and hath an ould Roman L in the first quarter, 
which John Stowe tooke in an ould seale which he had 
seene, for a sword, afferminge thereby that it was the 
Sworde of St. Paule, patron of the said Cittie : whereby 
he constantly affermed that they had aunciently soe 
borne it, and that it was no reward giuen by King 
Richard the Second, as our Chronicles reporte, for the 
seruice done in Smythfieeld against Watt Tyler y e Re- 
bell, by William Wall worth, Maior of London, whoe 
slewe the said Tyler with his dagger; in memory whereof, 
say they, the dagger was added to the Cittie's Armes/ 
k2 



182 CHRONICLES OP [a. D « 

This passage you will find in two ancient Manuscript 
copies of Heraldical Collections for London, in the Har- 
leian Library, No. 1464, p. 1 ; and No. 1349, p. 2b ; 
attended by sketches of the ancient and modern bearings, 
drawn in pen and ink, technically called fi Tricks of 
Arms/ This same story, told in the very same words, 
with two rude sketches of the Arms in the margin, is also 
to be found in one of Philpott's Manuscripts, in the 
Library at the Heralds' College, marked P b. No. 22, 
p. 10 a; where it is written on paper, in an ancient run- 
ning hand, about the year 1602; and, what is extremely 
singular, there does not appear to be any other entry of 
the City Arms in the books of that Office. 

" Notwithstanding, however, as Strype tells us, in his 
most interesting ' Life of John Stow,' prefixed to his 
' Survey,' vol. i., p. 15, that the worthy old Citizen, and 
Master Rouge Dragon, were well acquainted, and com- 
municated their labours to each other, yet he says also, 
that Stow would not be persuaded concerning the Dutch 
blazon of the London Arms, but affirmed them to have 
been always the same. I have but two other proofs to 
bring forward concerning these bearings ; and then I will 
no longer trespass upon your long- tried patience, but 
return back with all speed to our memorabilia of London 
Bridge. 

" The first of these is, that in Mr. J. B. Nichols's 
c Brief Account of the Guildhall of the City of London,' 
London, 1819, 8vo, we are told, at p. 34, that in the 
Eastern Crypt of that building, the groinings of the roof 
meet in bosses carved with Armorial Ensigns ; some 
being those of King Edward the Confessor, and others 
those of the City of London. ' It is worthy of remark,' 
adds the Author of this volume, in the same place, ' that 
the Arms of London represented in the bosses on the side 
aisles have the dagger, while all those in the centre aisle 
are without it.' I will make no other commentary upon 
this, than, that part of the crypt is said to have been 



1381.] LONDON BRIDGE. 133 

built antecedent to the reign of King Richard II., or, 
probably, formed part of the ancient Guildhall, erected, 
as some suppose, in 1189 ;; ( the present building being 
commenced, as Stow tells us in his ; Survey,' vol. i. p. 
558, in 1411, during the reign of Henry IV. The last 
evidence which I have to cite on this subject, is a small, 
but rare tract in the British Museum, entitled, c The 
Citie's Advocate in this Case, or'Question of Honour and 
Armes ; whether Apprenticeship extinguisheth Gentry V 
London, 1629, 4to. The Author of this volume is sup- 
posed to have been that John Philipot, or Philpott, 
whom I before mentioned, who was created Somerset 
Herald, on July the 8th, 1624, and who died on the 25th 
of November, 1645. He engraves both the banner of 
St. Paul, supported by an ef^gy of Robert Fitz- Walter, 
and the arms as they are now borne, for the Ensigns of 
London ; and states that they were ' a copy of that which 
an old imperfect larger volume at the Office of Armes 
containeth/ He cites this record in proof of Stow's 
veracity in explaining the weapon to signify the Sword 
of St. Paul i and adds that his effigy as ' titularie patron 
of London, aduanced itself into the standard, and upon 
the shield were those well-known armories of the crosse 
and weapon/ It is, perhaps, almost unworthy of men- 
tion, that Edward Hatton, in his ; New View of London,* 
London, 1708, 8vo, vol. i., in the inscription to the 
frontispiece representing the City Arms, blazons them 
6 Argent, a Gross Gules : on y e 1st quarter a sword (by 
some falsely ealled y 1 of St. Paul, by others y e dagger of 
Sr. Win. Walworth ; but I take it to represent y l of 
Justice) of y e 2nd :' this idea, however, is without the 
slightest support either in reason, history, research, or 
heraldry. Such is the chief evidence now extant con- 
cerning our Civic Ensigns, which you will find very 
fully and wittily considered, by a learned and facetious 
gentleman, an intimate of mine, in a paper signed R. S., 



134 CHRONICLES OF £a. D, 

printed in a periodical of much merit, entitled the ' New 
European Magazine,' vol. iv., May, 1824, pp. 397 — 401. 
46 Mr. Barnaby Postern)" said I, as I concluded this 
discourse on our Civic Heraldry, " I have spoken some- 
what at length on this subject, partly on account of its 
great interest, and partly because you ever and anon 
remind me of the sentiment uttered by that talkative 
knave, Gratiano, in the 4 Merchant of Venice ;' who 
says,— 

6 Well ! keep me company but two years more, 
Thou shalt not know the sound of thine own tongue !' 

But, as we have now gotten through our wanderings for 
the present, let me recall to your mind that our Bridge 

history was brought down to the period when " 

44 To the time," interrupted the Antiquary, " when 
the prompt courage and prudence of the youthful Richard, 
after the death of the rebel Tyler, the valour of the 
famous Henry Spencer, Bishop of Norwich, and the 
united efforts of the King's Armies and Councils, had 
succeeded in putting an end to one of the most extensive 
and dangerous insurrections ever known in England, 
During these turbulent times at home, the King's Am- 
bassadors abroad had been vainly endeavouring to nego- 
ciate a marriage between their Sovereign, and a daughter 
of the Duke of Milan. On the failure of which negocia- 
tion, he demanded the hand of Anne of Luxemburg, 
daughter of the Emperor Charles IV., and sister to 
Wenceslaus, Emperor and King of Bohemia ; with whom, 
on May the 2d, 1881, his marriage was formally con- 
cluded at Nuremburg. I mention this only to remind 
you, to whom the Pageants were presented which I shall 
very speedily have to notice. Before, however, that we 
arrive at any events so entertaining as these, I must men- 
tion some other circumstances, and repeat to you another 
extract from a Patent Roll concerning the appointment 
of a Gate-Keeper to London Bridge, recorded in the 



1390.] LONDON BRIDGE. 135 

eighth year of King Richard II., a. d. 1385, Membrane 
the 22d. It is addressed, c For Walter Fesecock/ and 
in English runs in the following terms; the original 
Latin being printed in Hearne's ' Liber Niger,' vol. i., 
p. *486. 

" * The King to all to whom these presents shall come, — 
greeting. Know ye, that of our special grace, and for the good 
service of our heloved Walter Fesacock, one of our Bargemen, we 
grant to the same Walter, for as much as in us lieth, the Office of 
Gatekeeper of the Bridge of our City of London ; he being near to 
us, and paying to us a price not exceeding thirteen shillings and 
four pence by the year : that is to say, he is to have the said 
office, with the profits belonging thereto, for the term of his life ; 
in the manner that John Chese, deceased, had the office aforesaid, 
by the grant of our most dear Lord and grandfather deceased. In 
testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at Westminster, on 
the eighth day of April. By Writ of Privy Seal/ 

" I am next, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, to speak of a 
famous action on London Bridge, which most authors who 
have written the history of that edifice, place five or six, 
and some even eight, years later, than it really happened; 
which I cannot imagine to have arisen from any other 
cause, than that of their carelessly following each other, 
or else copying Stow, in his c Survey,' p. 61, without 
turning to the original ancient Author, whom he cites in 
the margin of his ' Annals,' pp. 312, 313, as his authority 
for the fact. This memorable exhibition was a solemn 
Justing between an English and a Scottish Knight, as a 
display of the valour of their different countries ; which 
was held on St. George's day, the 23d of April, 1390 ; 
and not, as Stow has most unaccountably stated, in the 
works which I have quoted, either in 1395 or 1396. 
The authorities with which I shall support my argument, 
are ancient, and some of them even contemporary ; but 
we will first relate the plain story from the elegant Latin 
of Hector Boethius, a Scottish Historian, who was born 
at Dundee in 1470 : the best edition of whose 4 Scotorum 
Historian is that printed at Paris in folio, 1575 ; where, 



136 CHRONICLES OF [a. I>. 

on p. 335 b, the passage commencing ' Durante inter 
Anglos Scotosque pace publicaj is, in English, to the 
following effect. 

" ' During the general peace "between the Scots and the English, 
many of the English, who were of Knightly rank, and who excelled 
in military arts and prowess, frequented Scotland, and there also 
came many Scots into England ; producing, on both parts, many 
honourable tournaments, to which mutual challenges were pub- 
lished. Of these feats, the most worthy of memory was accounted 
that victory on London Bridge, by David Lindesay, Earl of Craw- 
ford. An Englishman, the Lord Wells, was then the embassador 
of King Richard, in Scotland, and was attending at a solemn 
banquet, where many persons, both Scots and English, were 
discoursing upon courage and arms. ' Away with this strife of 
words,' said the Englishman; 'whoever would experience the 
valour of the English, let his name be declared, and also a time 
and place be appointed, wherever ye list, for a single passage of 
arms, and I am ready. I call on thee/ said he to David, * who 
has spent many words against me, and thou shalt have to just with 
me rather than all the rest.' ' Yea, truly,' said David, * and I 
will do it blythely, if thou canst bring the King to consent to it. 7 
The King agreeing, the Englishman made choice of the place, and, 
because it should be in another country, he selected London 
Bridge : David named the time ? the holy St. George's day, 
because he was the chief patron of soldiers. Thereupon the Lord 
Wells returned to London, and David provided himself with arms, 
as well as he might. As the day was approaching, he made a journey 
with thirty- two persons in his train, immediately to London/ — 
this, however, is an error, for there were but twenty-nine in all, 
as I shall presently show, — l coming to King Richard, who received 
them with great honour.' . 

" Of the actual time when Sir David Lindsay came to 
England to engage in this passage of arms, we have the 
most authentic proof, in the original writs granted for 
his safe-conduct, which are yet extant in that interesting 
body of Scots Records, entitled c Rotuli Scotise/ or the 
Rolls of Scotland. These invaluable historical documents 
contain, — says the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Home, in his 
excellent notices of them attached to the printed copies, 
published by the Commissioners of the Public Records, 
London, 1819, fol., vol. ii. p. 7, — ' an important collec- 



1390.] LONDON BRIDGE. 13? 

tion of Records, illustrative of the Political Transactions 
between England and Scotland/ They commence with 
the nineteenth year of King Edward I., — a. d. 1290, — 
and terminate with the eighth year of King Henry VIII. 
—1516. With the exception of two Rolls of 1339 and 
1360, the 13th and 34th of Edward III., which are in 
the Chapter House at Westminster, all the remainder 
are deposited in the Wakefield Tower, in the Tower of 
London. The character in which they are written, of 
course, varies according to the different reigns, but it is, 
in general, a small and clear current court-hand, with a 
moderate proportion of contractions ; and their contents 
are composed of Treaties, Ransoms, Attainders, Grants, 
Licenses, and Passes of Safe Conduct for persons during 
war, some of which I am about to mention to you, as 
being proof of the Justing on London Bridge, in 1390. 
In the Second Volume then of the printed ' Rotuli Sco- 
tiae,' p. 103, col. 1 ; or on Membrane 3 of the original 
Roll of the 13th of Richard II.,— 1389-90, you will find 
the first of these instruments, a translation of which runs 
thus : 

* c i Safe- conduct for David de Lyndesey, Knight, for the duel to 
he fought with John de Welles. 

' The King to all and singular, our Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, 
Ministers, and faithful subjects, within and without our liberties, 
to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, 
that because our beloved and faithful John de Welles, — for the 
perfecting of a certain Passage of Arms within our Kingdom of 
England, against David de Lyndeseye, of Scotland, Knight, as he 
appears to have been calumniated by the said David, — he is peti- 
tioner to us for the security of the said David, with his followers 
and, servants coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, for the cause 
aforesaid, and graciously to provide for their remaining here, and 
returning again to their own country. We therefore, inclined at 
the supplication and urgent request of our liegemen who are at this 
time assisting to us, do undertake for the coming of the said David, 
with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, 
in armour, David himself being in the said number, and twelve 
other Knights, with their Esquires, Yarlets, and Pages also ac- 
counted, and with thirty horses, into our kingdom aforesaid, for 



138 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

the completing of the aforesaid Passage of Arms with the said 
John, from the sixth day of May next approaching ; for the coming 
of the same, and for their cause of remaining, and for their going 
out and returning to their own parts : nevertheless upon condition, 
that if any of the aforesaid who may be outlaws to us or our king- 
dom, shall present themselves in our Kingdom aforesaid, under the 
colour and protection of the company of David, they shall not 
enter nor remain in our safe and secure conduct. We will also, 
that the said David be sufficiently armed for himself: with 
trusses ' — most probably couches, or beds — ' for himself, and also 
during the completing of the Passage of Arms aforesaid, to carry, 
conduct, and have such with him, to be used for him upon any 
attack. And therefore we command you, and all of you whatso- 
ever, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses afore- 
said, with all their harness coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, in the 
manner and for the cause aforesaid, is in remaining here, and in re- 
turning to his own country, to be in friendship, protection, and de- 
fence ; not bringing upon them, nor permitting to be brought upon 
them, any injury, molestation, damage, or grievance. In testimony 
of which, this shall last from the first day of April next to come, 
for the two months then immediately following ; to be accounted 
from the first day of the same. Witness the King, at Westminster, 
the twenty-second day* of January. By Letter of Privy Seal.' 

" And now, Sir, let us suppose the parapet of London 
Bridge decorated with rich hangings of tapestry and 
cloth of gold, such as we know it was customary to 
adorn those edifices with on occasions of rejoicing and 
triumph. The lists for a Justing, you remember, were 
sixty paces in length, by forty in breadth, but as the 
whole width of the Bridge was but forty feet, this rule, 
though made by Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, Uncle to 
Richard II., the King in whose reign we now are, must 
have been dispensed with ; for, estimating the pace at 
two feet and a half, the measurement amounts to 150 
feet by 100. The ground within the lists was to be 
paved with large stones, hard, level, and firm ; and the 
entrances, which were commonly erected East and West, 
were to be fenced with bars, seven feet, or more, in height, 
that a horse might not be able to leap over them. At 
either end of the lists were erected the tents of the 
tilters, having their shields suspended over the entrances; 



1390.]] LONDON BRIDGE. 139 

which it was also customary to hang up at the windows 
of the houses where they lodged, at once to denote their 
residence, and to declare their Knightly intentions. We 
find, however, in that very curious and sumptuous work 
by Dr. Samuel Rush Meyrick, entitled, ' A Critical 
Enquiry into Ancient Armour/ London, 1824, fol., vol. 
ii. p. 59, Note, that he supposes that the lists for this 
Justing upon London Bridge, were without the centre 
paling between the Knights, called, in France, the double 
Lists, because, he imagines, one of the champions was 
overthrown by the concussion of their steeds. 

" We will, however, now return to the account of this 
Justing given by Boethius : 6 When the day of battle 
was come,' continues he, c both parties being armed, w T ere 
most honourably conducted to the Bridge, which was 
filled in all parts with noble spectators, with whom 
Richard was seated in an eminent place ; though a great 
concourse of the common people also was collected, ex- 
cited by the novelty of the event, and the fame of the 
champions. The signal being given, tearing their barbed 
horses with their spurs, they rushed hastily together with 
a mighty force, and with square-ground spears, to the 
conflict. Neither party was moved by the vehement 
impulse and breaking of the spears ; so that the common 
people affected to cry out that David was bound to the 
saddle of his horse, contrary to the law of arms, because 
he sat unmoved, amidst the splintering of the lances on 
his helmet and visage. When Earl David heard this, he 
presently leaped off his charger, and then as quickly 
vaulted again upon his back without any assistance ; and, 
taking a second hasty course, the spears were a second 
time shivered by the shock, through their burning desire 
to conquer. And now a third time were these valorous 
enemies stretched out and running together : but then 
the English Knight was cast down breathless to the 
earth, with great sounds of mourning from his country- 
men that he was killed. Earl David, when victory 



140 CHRONICLES OF [a. b. 

appeared, hastened to leap suddenly to the ground ; for 
he had fought without anger, and hut for glory, that he 
might show himself to he the strongest of the champions, 
and casting himself upon Lord Wells, tenderly embraced 
him until he revived, and the surgeon came to attend 
him. Nor, after this, did he omit one day to visit him 
in the gentlest manner during his sickness, even like the 
most courteous companion. He remained in England 
three months hy the King's desire, and there was not 
one person of nobility who was not well-affected towards 
him/ 

" This extended residence of Sir David Lindsay in 
England, is also proved hy a renewal of his safe-conduct 
which was granted him in the following terms ; the ori- 
ginal instrument being recorded on Membrane 3 of the 
Roll for the Year already mentioned ; aud a copy is 
inserted on p, 104, col. 1, of the printed edition of the 
' Rotuli Scotise/ 

Ci i Renewal of the Safe Conduct of David de Lyndeseye, Knight. 
* The King to all and singular the Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, Officers, 
and our faithful subjects within and without our liberties, to whom 
these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that David 
de Lyndeseye of Scotland, Knight, hath lately come, by authority 
of our safe conduct into our Kingdom, for the perfecting of some 
certain passages of arms within the same, with nine and twenty 
persons in his company and retinue, David himself being of their 
number ; and because he yet appears in our said Kingdom, and 
purposes for a short space of time to remain and continue within 
our Kingdom, some certain impediment and affairs of great import- 
ance touching his own person being in the mean while to be con- 
eluded : We, at the immediate request of David himself, to whom 
we are at this time graciously inclined, do undertake for the re- 
maining of the said David, with the aforesaid twenty and nine 
persons of his society and retinue, David himself being accounted 
of their number, with their horses and harness, for the matter 
aforesaid ; and afterwards for their returning into their ow T n parts 
under our safe and secure conduct. Nevertheless, upon condition 
that if any traitors to us or our Kingdom, or any outlaws from the 
same, present them in our Kingdom under pretence and protection 
of David's company, they shall not enter nor remain therein. "We 
will also, however, that the said David be sufficiently armed, with 



1390.] LONDON BRIDGE. 141 

trusses for his own person, for the perfecting of the aforesaid passage 
of arms, to carry, conduct, and have with him, to be used for him 
upon any attack whatsoever. And therefore we will and command 
you, and all of you, that the said David, with his men, arms, and 
horses aforesaid, with all their harness, in our Kingdom, in the 
manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining, and after- 
wards in returning to his own countries, to be in friendship, pro. 
tection, and defence/ &c, as before. ' In testimony of which, 
these presents shall last for the two months immediately following. 
Witness the King at Westminster, on the thirteenth day of May. 
By the King himself.' 

" That I may the better complete the narrative of this 
Knight's residence in England, I will yet give you the 
translations of two writs more, recorded on the Second 
Membrane of the same Roll, and printed upon the same 
page as the last, Col. 2. 

" l Another Renewal of the same Safe Conduct. 

' The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first 
day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately 
ensuing, to be accounted from the first day of the same, undertakes 
for his safe and secure conduct, and for the King's special protec- 
tion and defence, to David Lyndesey, of Scotland, Knight, coming 
into the King's realm of England, with twenty and nine persons 
of his company and retinue, David himself being accounted in their 
number, to be confirmed in Towns by virtue of the license of the 
Mayors, Bailiffs, and Keepers of the same, on his entering and 
returning towards the countries of Scotland, with his familiar people, 
their horses, harness, and all goods whatsoever. Witness the King, at 
Westminster, on the twenty- fifth day of May. By Bill of Privy Seal.' 

"We have lastly, in the following warrant, an authentic 
notice of his departure for Scotland. 

" ' Safe Conduct for the Scottish Ship for the carriage of the 
Armour of David Lyndesey. 

* The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first 
day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately 
ensuing, to be accounted from the first day of the same, engages 
for hi,s safe and secure conduct, and for his special protection and 
defence to a certain vessel of Scotland, called Seinte Marie, Ship 
of Dundee, whereof William Snelleis Master, with twelve Mariners 
crossing the seas for trading, the said Master and Mariners not 
carrying with them any property or goods whatsoever, nor any 
illicit goods, or prohibited merchandise, out of the Kingdom of the 
King aforesaid, excepting only one complete Armour of War for 



142 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the body of David Lyndesey of Scotland, Knight. Witness the 
King, at Westminster, the twenty- fifth day of May. By Letter of 
Privy Seal/ 

u Such, then, are the particulars of this memorable 
event, as related by Boethius, and supported by proofs 
from the most undoubted records, which fix it in the 
Year 1390; illustrated also by the addition of some 
curious particulars from Stow's translation of the passage 
given in his ' Annals,' which I have already cited ; 
though it is far beyond my ability to give you either the 
elegance or strength of expression, which the original 
author has infused into his narrative. Now, for the 
time when this Justing took place, let me observe that 
Boethius does not mention any year ; Stow has called it 
1395 and 1396 * .Raphael Holinshed, who professed to 
have translated the Scottish Historian in the Second part 
of his ' Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,' 
London, 1585-86, vol. i. p. 252, makes it 1398; and 
James Howell, whose account of London Bridge is a 
verbatim reprint of Stow's, in his ' Londinopolis,' Lon- 
don, 1657, fol., p. 22, sets it down as 1381. So far, 
then, all are at variance : but these are only the later 
and English Authors; whilst, on the other hand, we 
have the following positive assurance of John de Fordun, 
a Scottish Priest, who is said in 1377 to have dedicated 
his History of Scotland to the Cardinal Walter Wardlaw, 
Bishop of Glasgow; the best edition of whose work, 
' Johannis de Fordun Scotichronicon,' with the Conti- 
nuation of Walter Bower, Abbot of St. Columb's Isle, 
in 1424, is that of Walter Goodall, Edinburgh, 1759, 
fol. ; where, in vol. ii., book xv., chapter iv., p. 422, is 
the passage to which I have alluded. c In the same 
year, and on the 21st of the month,' — it commences, 
these being 1390, and April,— 'the Lord David Lindesay 
is made first Earl of Crawfurd, a valiant Knight, and in 
all warlike virtues most highly commended ; who, with 
other proofs of them, had a glorious triumph over the 



1390.] LONDON BRIDGE. 143 

Lord Wells of England, in his days a most famous 
soldier, at London, in the presence of King Richard II., 
in the year 1390, in a warlike pastime with spears : 
of which proof of military prowess, the fame hath 
hitherto been widely celebrated throughout England/ 

" The next authority which I shall adduce is that of 
Andrew of Wyntoun, a Scottish Chronicler, who was 
Canon Regular of St. Andrews, and Prior of the Monas- 
tery of St. Serf in Loch-leven ; and who died about the 
year 1420. The best edition of his labours is that beau- 
tiful one, entitled, c The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, 
be Androw of Wyntown, Priowr of Sanct Serfls Ynche,' 
— that is Isle, — ' in Loch levyn. Now first published 
with Notes and a Glossary, by David Macpherson,' 
London, 1815, 8vo., 2 volumes. In the Second Volume 
of this work then, at p. 353, the commencement of 
Chapter xi. reads thus, — 

4 Qwhen Schyr David the Lyndyssay rade 
Til Lundyn, and thare Tourne made. 
A thowsand thre hyndyr and nynty yhert 
Fra the Byrth of our e Lord dere 
The gud Lyndyssay, Schyr Dawy, 
Of Glenesk the Lord mychty, 
Honest, abil, and avenand, 
Past on (safe) conduct in Ingland.' 

" This Author, indeed, never mentions London Bridge, 
and assigns a different day for the encounter, as we read 
in the verses on the next page. 

' Swa ewyn a-pon the sext day 
Of that moneth that we call May, 
Thai ilk forsayd Lordis tway, 
The Lyndyssay and the Wellis thay 
On horse ane agane othir ran 
As thare taylyhe {tally, a bo?id } or indenture to fight) 

ordanyd than. 
The Lyndyssay thare wyth manful fors 
Strak qwyte the Wellis fra his hors 
Flatlyngis downe a-pon the grene. 
Thare all his saddile twin (toom, empty) -was sene/ 



144 GHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" We have, however, sufficient authority for believing 
that this Justing did actually take place on St. George's 
day; for Hector Boethius states, on p. 336 b. of his 
' History,' that because it was through the protection 
of St. George, on whose day Sir David, or rather Earl, 
Lindsay fought, he had gained this victory, he founded a 
Chantry, with a gift of 48 marks, — £32 yearly, — for 
seven Priests, with divers Virgins, for ever to sing holy 
Anthems to the Saintly Soldier in the Church of Dundee. 
' The which/ adds he, ' they did unto our time,'— that 
is, about eighty years afterwards — ' not without singular 
commendations to the Earl/ 

>i : " The Poem also speaks of the use of other weapons 
than lances ; and gives both Sir David Lindsay and King 
Richard a less degree of courtesy than we find mentioned 
elsewhere, as you will discover in the following passage : 

1 Qwhen all thare cursis on horse wes dune, 
To-gyddyr thai mellayid on fute swne, 
Wyth all thare wapnys, as by the taylyhe 
Oblyst thai ware, for til assaylyhe. 
Swa, wyth thare^knwys at the last 
Ilk ane at othir strak rycht fast, 
Swa of this to tell yow mare 
The Lyndyssay fastnyd his daggare 
In-till Wellis armowris fyne 

Welle lanche {a good depth) and hyni lyftyd syne 
Sum thyug fra the earth wyth pyth ; 
And all (rycht) manful wertu wyth 
Oppynly before thame all 
He gave the Wellis a gret fall, 
And had hym haly at his will 
Qwhat ever he wald have dwne hym til. 

The Kyng, in his Swmere Castelle 
That all this Towrne sene had welle, 
Sayd, 4 Lyndyssay, Cusyne, gud Lyndissay, 
Do forth that thow suld do this day.' 
As to be sayd, do furth thi dete, 
Thare shall na man here mak lete.'" 

" Let me finish this story, Mr. Postern/' said I, as he 
concluded his repetition of these old Scottish verses ; c< if 



1390.] LONDON BRIDGE. 115 

it be to have a finish, and you do not really intend to 
keep me all night in the year 1390, for we must not, 
certainly, let two such champions pass without one word 
concerning their families and their Arms; nor leave 
without distinction the actual Sir David Lindsay, and 
Lord Wells, who were engaged in this very famous 
passage of arms. You must, I am sure, remember, Mr. 
Barnaby, that the immortal Sir William Dugdale, 
Garter King of Anns, hath, in his 'Baronage of England,' 
London, 1676, folio, vol. ii., p. 11, a memoir of Lord 
Wells very meet to be mentioned here. His Lordship 
was the descendant of Adam de Welles, who lived in the 
time of Richard L, and he had served in the Wars in 
Flanders, France, and Scotland, under the Kings Edward 
II L, and Richard II., and the valiant John, Duke of 
Lancaster. As he was ten years old at his fathers death 
in 1360, he must have been about forty when he justed 
on London Bridge ; and after having been summoned to 
Parliament from 1376 to 1420, he is supposed to have 
died in the following year, on the Tuesday next after the 
Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, which being 
Sunday, August the 24th, 1421, made it the 26th of the 
month. Andrew of Wyntown, whom you have quoted, 
says of this Lord, you remember, in his Chronicle, vol. ii. 
p. 354, alluding to the Justing on London Bridge : — 

1 For in all Ingelond afore than 
The Welles was a commended man ; 
Manful, stoute, and of gud pyth, 
And high of harte he was there wyth. J 

" He bore for Arms, Or, a Lion rampant double queuee, 
Sable. Of Sir David Lindsav, of Glenesk, commonlv 
called Earl of Crawfurd, you may see some notices with 
proofs in ; The Peerage of Scotland,' by Sir Robert 
Douglas, Edited by John Philip Wood, Esq. Edinburgh, 
1813, folio, volume i., p. 37o. He married Catherine, 
fifth daughter of Robert II., King of Scotland, and his 
brother-in-law, Robert III., created him Earl of Craw- 



14CT CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

furd, April 21st, 1398 : though Hector Boethius, on p. 
336 b of his c History,' denies this, saying : — c There are 
who write, that the before-named David was created the 
first Earl of Craufurd by King Robert the Third ; but 
because we discover by the witness of ancient volumes, 
that James his father,' — rather his uncle, who was 
created Baron of Crawfurd, January 1st, 1382, — ' was 
made Earl by Robert the Second, we have followed a 
different manner in the history of this family/ Earl 
David was, however, twice a Commissioner and Ambassa- 
dor to England, in 1404 and 1406 ; and it is probable 
that he died before 1412. The arms borne by the 
Lindsays were Gules, a fesse Cheque Argent and Azure ; 
but his victorious banner has long since fallen a prey to 
a mightier conqueror : the lance and the falchion which 
struck down all before them, have been in their turn 
overcome by slow- consuming decay : the champion 
himself lives but in these scattered fragments ; remem- 
bered only by descendants, or antiquaries ; his tomb, and 
that of his rival, are alike unknown, and even if they 
could be traced, — 

< The Knights are dust, 
And their good swords are rust ; 
Their souls are with the Saints, we trust ! ? " 

I must own that I thought it a little uncivil in Mr. 
Barnaby Postern, as I finished these reflections with an 
air of great philosophical wisdom, to give a short dry 
cough, push the tankard towards me, and then to say, 
" Sorrow is dry, Mr. Geoffrey, and morality is musty ; 
so do you take another draught of the sack, and I'll give 
you another chapter from the Chronicles of London 
Bridge. 

" And now, Sir," recommenced my visitor, " that our 
history may not be without the mention of at least one 
strange fish, connected with London Bridge, let me tell 
you, that on Christmas day in the year 1391, as Stow tells 
us in his ' Annals,' p. 30 b, c a Dolphin came forth of the 



139L] LONDON BRIDGE. 147 

Sea, and played himself in the Thames at London to the 
Bridge ; foreshowing, happily, the tempests that were to 
follow within a weeke after ; the which Dolphin being 
seene of Citizens, and followed, was, with much difficulty, 
intercepted and brought againe to London, showing a 
spectacle to many of the height of his body, for he was 
tenne foote in length. These Dolphins are fishes of the 
sea, that follow the voices of men, and reioyce in playing 
of instruments, and are wont to gather themselves at 
musick. These, when they play in rivers, with hasty 
springing^ or leapings, doe signifie tempests to follow. 
The seas containe nothing more swift nor nimble, for 
oftentimes, with their skips, they mount oner the sailes 
of ships/ The original of this story is to be found, with 
many more particulars concerning Dolphins, in the ; His- 
toria Brevis,' of Thomas Walsingham, London, 1574, 
folio, the admirable edition by Archbishop Parker, p. 380. 
" As the political troubles which succeeded the appear- 
ance of this monster, were productive of a very sumptuous 
triumph upon London Bridge, 1 shall take the freedom 
to remind you, that King Richard being greatly attached 
to regal magnificence and banquets, naturally found his 
revenues very insufficient to support the splendours of his 
Court ; for, as Walsingham and Knyghton, the best his- 
torians of the time, assert, he valued himself upon sur- 
passing all the other Sovereigns of Europe in magnificence ; 
they add that he daily entertained no less than six 
thousand individuals ; that three hundred servants were 
employed in his kitchen alone ; and that his Queen had 
an equal number of females in her service. To supply 
the means for this extraordinary splendour, he endea- 
voured to procure aid from the Citizens of London ; and 
sent to borrow from them the large sum of 1000/. ; but 
it then was an unhappy time in England, for a dreadful 
Plague and Famine had overspread the Land, and they 
- not only refused his Majesty's request, but, upon a Mer- 
chant of Lombardy offering to comply with it, they 
l2 



148 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

violently attacked, and almost slew him. This was early 
in the year 1392 ; and on the 25th of May following, the 
King, incensed to a very great degree, summoned a Par- 
liament at Stamford, when the City Charter was seized ; 
the Law Courts were removed to York ; and the Mayor, 
Sheriffs, and principal Citizens, deposed and imprisoned ; 
until, by the mediation of Queen Anne, the Bishop of 
London, and the Duke of Gloucester, the King's anger 
was in some degree pacified, and he consented to indulge 
the Londoners with an audience at Windsor. At this 
interview the Citizens, after submitting themselves to the 
King's pleasure, offered him 10,000/. for the redemption 
of their privileges; but were dismissed in dejection and 
uncertainty ; though, when Richard was informed of their 
sorrow, he determined to proceed immediately to London, 
to re-assure them of his favour. It was upon this occasion 
that the Bridge bore a very important part in the tri- 
umph ; though the ceremony of receiving the King and 
Queen with great splendour and a considerable train, 
began at Wandsworth ; where four hundred of the Citi- 
zens well mounted, and habited in one livery, entreated 
him to ride through his Chamber of London. At St. 
George's Church, in Southwark, the procession was met 
by Robert Braybrooke, Bishop of London, and his Clergy 
of the City, followed by five hundred boys in surplices, 
who attended them through the streets towards West- 
minster. When the train arrived at the Gate of London 
Bridge, nearly the whole of the inhabitants, orderly 
arranged according to their age, rank, and sex, advanced 
to receive it, and presented the King with a fair milk- 
white steed, harnessed and caparisoned in cloth of gold, 
brocaded in red and white, and hung full of silver bells ; 
whilst to the Queen was presented a palfrey, also of 
white, caparisoned likewise in white and red. The other 
streets of London, too, put on all their bravery ; the 
windows and walls being hung with cloths of gold, silver, 
and silk ; the Conduit in Cheapside poured out floods of 



1392.] LONDON BRIDGE. 149 

red and white wine ; a child, habited like an angel, 
crowned the King and Queen with golden crowns, from 
a sumptuous stage covered with performers in rich 
dresses ; a table of the Trinity wrought in gold, and 
valued at 800/., was given to the King, and another of 
St. Anne to his consort ; and truly I know of nothing 
which might so well express the splendours of that day, 
as the passage with which Walsingham concludes his 
notice of it. ' There was so much glory,' says he, ; so 
much pomp, so great variety of divers furniture provided, 
that to have undertaken it might have been a triumph to 
any King. For horses and trappings, plate of gold and 
silver, clothes of gold, silk, and velvet, ewers and basons 
of yellow gold, gold in coin, precious stones, and jewels 
so rich, excellent, and beautiful, were given to him, that 
their value and price might not easily be estimated/ 

" This gorgeous scene took place on the 29th of Au- 
gust, and you will find my authorities for this account of 
it in Henry Knyghton s books ' De Eventibus Angliae,' 
printed inTwysden's ; Script ores,' already cited, p.. 2740; 
in Robert Fabyan's c Chronicles of England and Fraunce,' 
London, 1559, fol., vol. ii., p. 334; in Stow's ; Annals,' 
p. 307 ; and in Maitland's ' History,' vol. i., p. 180. I 
will but observe, to finish this portion of history, that the 
Citizens redeemed their Charter by the payment of 
10,000/. ; and the King, by his Letters Patent, dated at 
Westminster, in February 1392-93, restored them to his 
favour ; and so, observes Stow in his ' Annals,' ' the 
troubles of the Citizens came to quietnesse ; which 
troubles, the Dolphin in the Thames at Christmas last 
past, did happily signine afar off/ Though Maitland, at 
p. 180 of his ' History/ vol. i., most unaccountably makes 
the Dolphin appear the Christmas after this fine was 
paid. 

" I can scarcely imagine, worthy Mr. Barbican, wdiat 
could induce the accurate Stow, — and of course all other 
Authors of London history, — to remark, when speaking 



150 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

of the year 1395, our next eminent epoch in the Chro- 
nicles of London Bridge, that because the Justing which 
we have already spoken of was, as he says, then holden 
upon it, such ' history proveth that at that time, the 
Bridge being coaped on either side, was not replenished 
with houses built thereupon, as since it hath been, and 
now is.' You will observe that this passage, which occurs 
in vol. i., p. 61, of his 4 Survey/ is no interpolation of 
later or more unskilful Editors, because it is to be found 
in the first black-letter edition of that most valuable 
work, 1598, small folio. Now, in most of his preceding 
pages he has been giving proofs of the Bridge being built 
upon at an early period to some extent ; and 1 also, after 
him and others, have adduced to you abundant evidence 
that such was the case. I have shown that the Gate and 
Towers were certainly as ancient as 1264 ; that in the 
Patent granted to Isenbert of Xainctes, in 1201, it is 
stated ; that the rents and profits of the several houses, 
which the said Master of the Schools shall cause to be 
erected on the Bridge, shall be for ever appropriated to 
repair, maintain, and uphold the same ;' that in the Pa- 
tent of relief granted by Edward L, in 1280, it is observed 
that the dilapidations of the Bridge may occasion not only 
its sudden fall, ' but also the destruction of innumerable 
people dwelling on it ;' and that in the reign of the same 
Edward, the Assize Rolls mention the very rents and 
situations of houses then standing on London Bridge. All 
this, I imagine, might be received as fair and conclusive 
evidence that this part of the City was built upon and 
inhabited, long before 1395 ; to which let me add, that 
Richard Bloome, one of the continuators of Stow, ob- 
serves, on p. 62, when speaking of the dreadful confla- 
gration of the Bridge in 1632-33, that some of the houses 
remained unbuilt until the year 1666, when the Great 
Fire of London destroyed all the new edifices. c But,' 
rejoins he, ' the old ones at the South end, some of which 
were built in the reign of King John,' — and he died, you 



1395.]] LONDON BRIDGE. 151 

will remember, in 1215, — ' were not burnt/ It is, bow- 
ever, extremely probable, that London Bridge did not 
even in 1595 present that form of a continued street 
which was afterward its most celebrated and peculiar 
character. There were, I doubt not, several places open 
to the water, perhaps, as Stow says, ' plainly coped with 
stone ; ' and in one of these, it is most probable, that the 
Justing, which he erroneously mentions in that year, 
took place. 

" Anne of Bohemia, the Queen of Richard II., dying 
in 1394, his sorrow for her loss was both passionately 
expressed, and deservedly bestowed ; though, so early 
afterwards as in 1396, during an interview between him 
and that insane Monarch, Charles VI. of France, a truce 
was concluded betwixt the two Kingdoms for twenty- 
eight years, and Richard espoused Isabel, the French 
King's eldest daughter, although she was then under 
eight years of age ; whence she was called ' The Little,' 
and the English Sovereign was about thirty. This mar- 
riage was solemnized by Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, in the Church of St. Nicholas, at Calais, on 
Wednesday, October 31, or rather the 1st of November, 
when Richard is said to have expended on the occasion, 
the immense sum of three hundred thousand marks, or 
in modern coinage 200,000/. On the 2d of November 
they sailed for England, and, on arriving at Blackheath, 
the Royal train was met by the usual procession of the 
Mayor and Aldermen of London, habited in scarlet, who 
attended the King to Newington, where he dismissed 
them, as he was to rest for a short time at Kennington. 
On the 13th, however, Richard and his Consort entered 
the City on their way to the Tower ; when so vast a 
multitude was collected on London Bridge to see the 
young Queen pass, that nine persons were killed in the 
crowd, of whom the Prior of the Austin Canons at Tip- 
tree, in Essex, was one, and. a worshipful matron of 
Cornhill was another. John Stow is commonly cited as 



152 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the authority for this circumstance, and it may be seen 
related in his ' Annals/ p. 315 ; though it is also to be 
found in ' The Chronicle of Fabian,' London, 1559, 
small folio, p. 838. Robert Fabian, as you must well 
remember, was, in 1493, an eminent Merchant and She- 
riff of London, and died in 1512, about thirteen years 
previously to the birth of John Stow. You will also see 
the following notice of the event in the Harleian Manu- 
scripts, No. 565 7 article 5, p. 61 a, which consists of ' A 
Chronicle of English Affairs, and especially of those 
relating to the City of London, from the first year of 
King Richard I., 1189, to the 21st of Henry VI., 1442, 
inclusive/ — c In yis yere, a bouzte y e feste of Alhalwen, 
Isabell y e Kynges doughter of Fraunce was spoused to 
Kyng Richard at Caleys : whiche afterward on y e viij day 
of Januer was crowned Queue at Westm r . At whos 
comynge to London, y e Priour of Typtre in Essex, with 
other viij persones vp on London bregge in y e gret prees 
weren crowsed to y e deth.' Now, as I shall hereafter 
frequently have to cite this Chronicle for some particulars 
of events not to be found in any other Annals, I must 
observe that it is a small quarto, fairly written on parch- 
ment, in a current Court-hand of the time of Edward IV., 
and decorated with vermillion lines and ornaments. 

" It was, you will recollect, in 1397, that Thomas of 
Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and uncle to Richard 
II., being charged with disaffection and conspiracy, was 
suddenly carried to Calais; in which confinement and 
exile he died, on the 24th of September in the same year, 
of an apoplectic fit, as some Historians relate, although 
the greater number charge Richard with his murder, and 
assert that he was smothered, or strangled : for he was 
rude and overbearing in his disposition, and usually 
opposed the King in most of his measures; censured his 
extravagant expenditure, and on several occasions is said 
to have reproached and upbraided him with great seve- 
rity of language. On these accounts is the Duke's death 



1399."] LONDON BRIDGE. 158 

charged upon the King, and his favourites ; and you have 
a very curious and interesting examination of the circum- 
stance, in Richard Gough's c History and Antiquities of 
Pleshy, in the County of Essex/ London, 1803, 4to., 
pp. 85 — 123. The reign of this unfortunate Monarch 
was, however, nearly at a close ; for, on the 29th of Sep- 
tember, 1399, he resigned the ensigns of Royalty to the 
Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV., and in the 
formal accusation, consisting of 33 Articles, drawn up for 
his deposition, in the fourth he is charged with having 
caused the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. When these 
accusations were read over to Richard, and he had named 
his principal advisers in each action, it was Henry of 
Lancaster's care to discover the four Knights who actually 
strangled the Duke of Gloucester in the Castle of Calais ; 
and having done so, he confined them in four separate 
prisons in London, 6 and would not,' says Sir John Frois- 
sart, Q have taken twenty thousand nobles for their deli- 
verance/ Sir Thomas Knolles, the Mayor, and the 
Citizens of London, were next acquainted with the Arti- 
cles of Deposition, and the King's confession concerning 
the four Knights; when the crowds, which had assembled 
in the Guildhall, cried out with execrations against them, 
and loudly demanded their immediate condemnation. 
This very speedily followed, and old London Bridge, 
which has in its days witnessed so many scenes of blood, 
was appointed the place for the exhibition of their heads ; 
but in giving you a short narrative of this execution, we 
can go to no better authority than to the Herodotus of his 
time, Sir John Froissart, who, as you will doubtless 
recollect, was born at Valenciennes in 1337, and was 
Priest, Canon, and Treasurer of the Collegiate Church 
of Chimay ; he died about 1401, and his Chronicles of 
his own time were compiled from the most authentic 
sources. 

" The French of that part of Froissart's Chronicles to 
which I have alluded, commences 6 A done se tirent 



154 -CHRONICLES OF (jl. B. 

ensemble le Maire de Londres/ &c, vol. iv., chap. cxii. ; 
but we shall take the excellent English of Colonel 
Johnes' translation, Hafod Press, 1803, 4to, vol. iv., 
pp. 663, 664:. ' The Mayor and Lawyers/ says he, 
' retired to the judgment-seat, and the four Knights 
were condemned to death. They were sentenced to he 
brought before the apartment of the Tower of London in 
which King Richard was confined, that he might see 
them from the windows, and thence drawn on sledges by 
horses to Cheapside, each person separately, and there 
beheaded, their heads affixed to spikes on London Bridge, 
and their bodies hung upon a gibbet, and there left. 
When this sentence was pronounced, they hastened to 
execute it. Everything being prepared, the Mayor of 
London, and the Lords who had assisted him in this 
judgment, set out from Guildhall with a large body of 
people, and came to the Tower of London, where they 
seized the four Knights of the King, Sir Bernard Brocas, 
the Lord Marclais, Master John Derby, Receiver of 
Lincoln, and the Lord Stelle, Steward of the King's 
Household. They were all brought into the court, and 
each tied to two horses, in the sight of all in the Tower, 
who were eye-witnesses of it as well as the King, who 
was much displeased, and in despair ; for the remainder 
of the King's Knights that were with him looked for 
similar treatment, so cruel and revengeful did they know 
the Londoners. Without saying a word, these four were 
dragged from the streets to Cheapside, and on a fish- 
monger's stall had their heads struck off, which were 
placed over the Gate on London Bridge, and their bodies 
hung on a gibbet. After this execution, every man 
retired to his home/ 

" The fatal tragedy of the reign of King Richard II. 
was at length consummated by his murder at Pontefract 
Castle, February 14, 1399-1400 ; for whether he died of 
grief, starvation, or by the weapon of Sir Piers Exton, 
his death cannot be called by any other name ; though 



1408.] LONDON BRIDGE. 155 

Henry of Lancaster was not yet so firmly seated on the 
throne as to prevent numerous insurrections throughout 
the realm, on behalf of the younger Edmund Mortimer, 
Earl of March, the legitimate heir to the crown. For 
about the year 1386, King Richard had appointed as his 
successor Roger Mortimer, the son of Edmond, second 
Earl of March, and Philippa his Countess, who was 
daughter and heiress to Lionel, Duke of Clarence, third 
son of King Edward III. : whereas Henry of Lancaster 
was the son of John of Ghent, who was only fourth son 
of that Monarch. One of the most famous of these 
insurrections, was that raised by Henry Percy, Earl of 
Northumberland, which was overthrown by Sir Thomas 
Rokeby, Sheriff of York, at Horselwood, on February 
19, 1407-1408. In which encounter Lord Thomas Bar- 
dolf, — who is a character in Shakspeare's ; Second Part of 
King Henry the Fourth/ — was mortally wounded, and 
died soon afterwards ; but being on the party of the Earl, 
his body was quartered as a traitor s, and set up at several 
places with the Earl's, one of which was London Bridge. 
This you will find identified by Thomas of Walsingham, 
in his c Historise Angiise/ p. 419 ; for there he says, with 
considerable pathos : ' The root of Percy dies in ruin 
wild ! for surely this Nobleman was altogether the living 
stock of the Percy name; and of most of the various others 
who were lost in his defeat. For whose unhappy end the 
common people did not grieve the least ; recalling that 
famous, glorious, and magnificent man, and applying to 
him the mournful song of Lucan, where he says, 

' But not his blood, his wounds did not so move 
Our grieving souls, or wake our weeping love,— 
As that we saw, in many a town, appear 
His aged head transfixed on a spear.' 

Pharsalia, ix. 136. 

For his venerable head adorned with its silver locks, set 
upon a poll, was publicly carried through London, and 
regardlessly placed upon the Bridge/ 



156 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" Sir William Dugclale, in his ' Baronage,' vol. i., p. 
683, says that Lord Bardolf's head was erected over a 
gate at Lincoln ; and this is partly supported by the 
Chronicle in the Harleian Collection, No. 565, p. 68 a, 
which states that in the ninth year of Henry IV., 6 the 
Erie of Northumberland and y e Lord Bardolf, which 
a*rysyn a yeynis y e Kyng, were taken in y e north cuntre, 
and be heded, and y e hed of y e forsaid Erie, and a quarter 
of y e Lord Bardolf, were sent to London, and sett vp on 
London Brigge/ Dugdale adds, however, from the 
authority of the Close Rolls, that Avicia, the widow of 
that Baron, was permitted by the King to take down his 
body and bury it. 

" The only historical notice which I find connected 
with London Bridge, immediately succeeding the last 
unhappy story, is of a light and even trivial nature, 
being nothing greater than a dispute in the Bridge- 
Street, between Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, 
and John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, the second and 
third sons of Henry IV., their followers and the Citizens. 
Stow, in relating this circumstance, in his c Annals,' p. 
338, makes no farther mention of the place than that 
they ' being in East-Cheape, in London, at supper, after 
midnight, a great debate hapned betweene their men and 
men of the Court, lasting an houre, till the Maior and 
Sheriffs, with other Citizens, ceased the same :' and 
Maitland adds, in vol. i. of his ' History,' p. 18o, that 
these Officers were, in consequence, summoned before 
Sir William Gascoigne, the Chief Justice, to submit 
themselves to the King's mercy on behalf of the Citizens. 
Richard Mario w, however, the then Lord Mayor, and 
John Law and William Chicheley, the Sheriffs, with 
the Aldermen, strenuously asserted their innocence, 
alleging that they had only done their duty in preserving 
the peace of the City ; and the King being fully satisfied 
with this answer, the Corporation returned to .London. 
I have only farther to remark, that Prince Thomas of 



1413.] LONDON BRIDGE. 157 

Clarence was engaged in a similar fray in East- Cheap in 
the year previous to the present, namely 1407-8; and 
that it is to him that Shakspeare makes the dying King- 
Henry deliver that noble speech in the ' Second Part of 
King Henry 1V./ Act 4, Scene 4. We derive, how 
2ver, such a character-of John of Lancaster from FalstafF, 
that we wonder to find him either in East-Cheap or 
Bridge- Street ; for in that very same dramatic history, 
and in the preceding scene, he says of him : ' Good faith, 
this same young sober-blooded boy doth not love me ; 
nor a man cannot make him laugh ;— but that's no 
marvel, he drinks no wine/ Here, then, close all the 
events of London Bridge which have come under my 
reading, in the year 1409. 

" The Festival of St. Mary Magdalen, July 22d, in 
the first year of Henry V., a. d. 1413, brings to us the 
recollection of a very ancient and curious Saxon law, 
namely that of Sanctuary : by w T hich privilege, if a 
person accused of any crime, — excepting Treason and 
Sacrilege, in which the Crown and the Church were too 
nearly concerned, — had fled to any Church, or Church- 
Yard, and within forty days after went before the 
Coroner, made a full confession of his crime, and took the 
oath provided in that case, that he would quit the realm, 
and never return again, without leave of the King, his 
life should be safe. At the taking of this oath he was 
brought to the Church-door, where being branded with 
an A, signifying Abjured, upon the brawn of the thumb 
of his right hand, a port was then assigned him, from 
which he was to leave the realm, and to which he was 
to make all speed, holding a cross in his hand, and not 
turning out of the highway, either to the right hand or 
the left. At this port he was diligently to seek out for 
passage, w r aiting there but one ebb and flood, if he could 
immediately procure it ; and if not, he was to go every 
day into the sea up to his knees, essaying to pass over. 
If this could not be accomplished within forty days, he 



153 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

was again to put himself into Sanctuary. These privi- 
leges of Sanctuary and Abjuration were taken away in 
1624, by the Statute of the 21st of James I., chap. 28 : 
but you will find the ancient law on these points fully 
set forth in William Rastall's 6 Collection in English of 
the Statutes now in force/ London, 1594, fob, under 
their proper titles, fols. 2 a, 399 b, and also in Andrew 
Home's learned work of 4 La Somme, appelle Mirroir 
des Justices, London,' 1624, 12mo, chap. 1, sec. xiii. p. 
102. Rastall, you will recollect, was Chief Justice of 
the Common Pleas under Queen Mary ; and Home was 
a Lawyer of great erudition and eminence, in the reigns 
of the First and Second Edwards. 

" Well, Sir, having brought to your remembrance 
these ancient privileges, I am next to tell you that in 
1413, a train of five abjurants of the realm crossed Lon- 
don Bridge on their way to Calais ; having issued from 
a member of the famous Sanctuary of St. Martin s le 
Grand, which was founded by Ingelric, Earl of Essex, 
and his brother Girardus, in 1056, and confirmed by 
Pope Alexander II., and King William I., in 1068. 
For these facts I must refer you to Stow's 4 Survey,' vol. i. 
pp. 605-606 ; and to p. 16, &c. of a modest little volume 
of much curious information by Mr. Alfred John Kempe, 
entitled - Historical Notices of the Collegiate Church, or 
Royal Chapel and Sanctuary, of St. Martin s le Grand,' 
London, 1825, 8vo. As for the circumstance which 
caused these worthies to fly their country, we have it set 
down in the following terms, in that Chronicle contained 
in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 565, fol. 74 a, - And 
in the same yere, on Seynt Marie Maudeleyn day,' — 
July 22d, — 4 John Nyaunser, Squyer, and his men, 
sclowen Maist 1 *. Tybbay, Clerk,' — Archdeacon of Hunt- 
ingdon, and Chancellor to Joan, Queen of Henry IV. — 
4 as he passyd thorugh lad lane. For the whiche deth 
the same John Nyaunser and iiij of his men fiedden in 
to Seynt Anne's Chirche with inne Aldrich gate,' — that 



1413.] LONDON BRIDGE. 159 

is to say, St. Anne in the Willows, as we now call it, 
though without exactly knowing why, — ' And with inne 
the said Church they were mured vp. And men of 
diners wardes wacched them nyzt and day. And y s for- 
said John Nyaunser and his men for suoren the Kynges 
lond, and passyd through the Citee of London,' — on 
August the 21st, — c toward Caleys, in there schertes and 
breches,' — a purse about their necks, — ' and ich of them 
a cross in ther hand/ Let me add, that you will 
also find this circumstance recorded in Stow's c Annals,' 
p. 345." 

" My worthy Mr. Postern!" exclaimed I, for I now 
began to grow exceedingly impatient, " I really can bear 
this no longer: you promise to give me a descriptive 
history of London Bridge, and here you tell me of nothing 
but a riot which, took place in the street near to it, and 
of a troop of knaves which probably walked over it. 
Positively, my good Sir, it 's too bad ; and unless your 

story mend, why " ■ 

a It shall be mended, Mr. Barbican," answered the 
imperturbable Antiquary, in much the same tone of voice 
as that with which Lope Tocho calmed the enraged 
Muleteer, in the same words; — " It shall be mended, 
and our Chronicles too, Mr. Geoffrey ; but sweeten your 
disposition, my good friend, I pray you. Remember, 
that an Antiquary may ruffle his shirt, but never his 
temper ; for though I confess to you that the collateral 
events which I am obliged to introduce, are somewhat 
like— 

1 Rich windows that exclude the light, 
And passages, which lead to nothing :' — 

yet, when we consider how little the tooth of Time hath 
left to us of continuous History, we should labour to 
supply that defect by joining all the fragments with 
which we meet, wherever they may be united to the 
principal, but still imperfect, chain. We are, however, 
now arrived at a period, which our Bridge Historians do 



160 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

in general pass over, with little information to their 
readers, and less labour to themselves ; yet even here, 
although we have no pictorial delineations to refer to, 
yet, with a little research, we have enough of descriptive 
story to call up the very scenes before our eyes, and to 
bring the actors again living before us. 

61 The year 1415 is not only immortalized in History 
by the famous Battle of Agincourt, fought on the 25th 
of October, but even in the Chronicles of London Bridge 
it is a most memorable era, on account of the splendid 
Pageants which welcomed the victorious Henry V,, as he 
returned over that edifice to his Palace at Westminster. 
About the middle of November, or, as some tell us, the 
16th, the King embarked for England, bringing his 
principal prisoners with him ; and you may remember, 
by the way, that his fleet being encountered by a violent 
storm, two of his ships were sunk, and all were in extreme 
danger. You will find a few particulars of these facts in 
Stow's 4 Annals,' p. 351, and also in that Chronicle which 
I have so often quoted, in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 
565 ; of which latter, the following are the words, from 
p. 76 b. 

ei i Also in this yere, that is to say the xxviij day of Octobr., the 
Kyrtg com to his Town of Caleys, and was there til y e xvj day of 
Nouembr. And that same day y e King schypped fro his Town of 
Caleys toward Engelond : And he landed y e same day at nyzt, at 
Douerre, and com ft^rth all y e woke after toward London. And 
y e fryday at nyzt, y e King come to Eltham, and there he lay all 
that nyzt; and on y e morwe was Satyrday, y e xxiij day of Nonemhr. 
The Maire of London, and alle y e Aldermen, with all y e Craftes 
of London, reden euery man in reed, with hodes reed and white, 
and mette with y e Kyng on y e Blake heth comyng from Eltham 
ward, toward his Citee of London; and ayens his comynge was 
erdeyned moche ryalte in London : that is to weten, at London 
Bregge, at y e Conduyt in Cornhill, at the grete Conduytin Chepe ; 
and at y e Crosse in Chepe w 7 as mad a Ryall Castell with Angells 
and Virgynes, syngynge there jime. And so y e Kyng and hise 
presoners of Frensshmen. reden thorugh London vn to Westminster 
to mete.' 

" It is fortunate for us Antiquaries, however, that we 



1415.] LONDON BRIDGE. 161 

have still better descriptions of these Pageants, and 
especially of that exhibited on London Bridge ; and if, 
in relating them to you, I seem to speak overmuch upon 
one subject, I pray you to remember, as I said, how 
very slightly that subject — at least so far as concerns 
the Bridge — has been treated by Historians in general ; 
and how many of those who have pretended to write of 
this edifice, have omitted it altogether. Give me your 
patience, then, whilst I translate for you two curious 
accounts of those Pageants, which welcomed King Henry 
into the best and the greatest of Cities. 

w The first which I shall cite, is, most probably, from 
the pen of an eye-witness, both of the King's valour 
abroad, and of his triumphs at home ; since it is from a 
Latin Manuscript in the Cottonian Library, marked 
Julius, E. IV., Art. 4, which the Catalogue at p. 17 
calls ' The Acts of King Henry V. : the Author, a 
Chaplain in the Royal Army, who saw them for himself/ 
This Manuscript is written on paper, in a very small 
and fair current black letter, full of contractions ; and 
on p. 122 b, the account of the Bridge Pageants runs 
thus : 6 And therewith, about the hour of ten in the 
day, the King came in the midst of them all ; and the 
Citizens gave glory and honour to God, and many con- 
gratulations and blessings to the King, for the victories 
he had brought them, and for the public works which 
he had wrought; and the King was followed by the 
Citizens towards the City, with a proper, but a moderate, 
protection. And for the praise and glory of the City, 
out of so many magnificent acts of the noble Citizens, 
some things worthy of note the pen records with ap- 
plause. On the top of the Tower at the entrance of the 
Bridge, which stands, as it were, on going into the 
strength of the City, there stood on high a figure of 
gigantic magnitude, fearlessly looking in the King's face, 
as if he would do battle ; but on his right and left hand 
were the great keys of the City hanging to a staff, as 



162 CHRONICLES OF [a. I>. 

though he had been Gate-keeper. Upon his right, stood 
the figure of a woman not much less in size, habited in 
the gown, tunic, and ornaments of a female, as if they 
had been meant for a man and his wife, who appeared 
favourers of the King, and desired that they might see 
his face, and receive him with many plaudits. And the 
towers about them were ornamented with halberts and 
the Royal Arms; and trumpeters stood aloft in the 
turrets, which were resounding with horns and clarions 
in winding and expanding melody. And in the front of 
the fortress this appropriate and elegant writing was 
imprinted, " The King's City af Justice." And there 
appeared, on both sides, all the way along the Bridge, 
very little youths ; and also, on both sides, out of the 
stone-work before them, was a lofty column, the height 
of the smaller towers, made of wood, not less delicate 
than elegant, which was covered over with a linen cloth 
painted the colour of white marble and green jasper, as 
if it had been of a square shape, and formed of stones 
cut out of the quarries. And upon the summit of the 
column on the right side, was the figure of an Antelope 
rampant, having a splendid shield of the Royal Arms 
hanging about his neck, and in his right foot he held a 
sceptre extended, and offered it to the King. Upon the 
top of the other column was the image of a lion, also 
rampant, which carried a spear having the King's banner 
displayed upon the upper end, which he held aloft in his 
dexter claw. And across, at the foot of the Bridge, was 
erected the fabric of a Tower, the height of the aforesaid 
columns, and painted ; in the midst of which, under a 
superb tabernacle, stood a most beautiful effigy of St. 
George, all in armour, excepting his head, which was 
adorned with laurel interwoven with gems, which shone 
between it like precious stones for their brightness. 
Behind him was a tapestry of cotton, having his Arms 
resplendently embroidered in a multitude of escutcheons. 
Upon his right was suspended his triumphal helmet; 



1415.] LONDON BRIDGE. 163 

upon his left his shield of Arms of a correspondent mag- 
nitude ; and he had his right hand upon the handle of 
his sword, which was girt about him. Upon the tower 
was raised an extended scroll, containing these words, 
" To God only be honour and glory ; " and in front of the 
building, this congratulatory prophecy, — Psalm xlvi. 4, 
— " T/w streams of the River make glad the City of God;" 
and all the principal towers were gallantly adorned with 
the Royal Arms embossed upon them, or displayed in 
banners upon lances reared above them. In the house 
adjoining to the fortress behind, were innumerable 
children representing the English Priesthood, in radiant 
garments with shining countenances : others were like 
virgins, having their hair adorned with laurels inter- 
woven with gold ; and they continued singing from the 
coming in of the King, with modulation of voice and 
melody of organs, according to the words of this song in 
English/ 

" I know very well that it is most common for the 
events of the reign of Henry V. to be cited from the 
• History of his Life and Actions,' written in Latin verse 
by Thomas, a Monk of Elmharn, in Norfolk, in his 
time Prior of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity at 
Lent on in the county of Nottingham. As that part of 
his Poem, however, which treats 4 De Adventu Regis ad 
Pont em Londoniarum,' — concerning the King's entrance 
at the Bridge of London, — is considerably inferior to 
the account which I have already given you, I shall 
dispense with your labour in listening to it, and mine in 
translating it ; and only observe to you, that an authentic 
copy of Thomas of Elmham's ' Historia de Vita et Gesta 
Henrici V. Anglorum Regis,' is preserved in the Cottonian 
Manuscript which I last cited, art. 3, fairly written on 
parchment, in the small black text-hand of the latter 
part of the fifteenth century ; and that the passage will be 
found at fol. 101 b, cap. xliiii. I would remind you also 
that a printed edition of this work was published by 
m2 



164 CHRONICLES OF [a. P. 

Tom Hearne, Oxford, 1727, 8vo, which is not one of his 
most common books ; the text was taken from several 
old Manuscripts, and the value of a large-paper copy 
fluctuates between four and six guineas. The next 
authority, therefore, whom I shall quote upon this sub- 
ject, is supposed to have been the production of the 
justly famous old John Lydgate, who was in his days a 
very eminent English Poet ; being born about 1375, and 
dying about 1461. He was a Monk of the Abbey of 
Bury, in Suffolk ; and of these historical verses by him 
there is a Manuscript copy, written on parchment in an 
old Court-hand, ornamented with vermillion choruses 
and lines, in No. 565 of the Harleian Manuscripts, in the 
British Museum. You will find them forming Articles 
8 and 9 of that volume, and thus entered in the Cata- 
logue, vol. i. p. 351 : " A Poem upon the Wars of King 
Henry the V. in France ; and his return to England, 
after the battle of Agincoure ; composed perhaps by 
John Lidgate.' — ' The making of (i. e. Poem upon) the 
comynge of the Kynge (Henry V.) out of Fraunce, to 
London. By John Lidgate, the Monke of Bury/ Such 
are the titles of these verses, from which I shall repeat 
to you all that concerns the King's entry at London 
Bridge; and, firstly, at p. Ill b, the story runs thus, 
beginning at the second stanza of c Passus Tercius.' 

" The Mayr of london was Redy bown, 
With all y e craftes of that Cite 
Alle clothyd in red, thorugh out y e town 
A semely sight it was to se : 
To y e black Hethe thanne rod he, 
And spredde y e way on euery syde ; 
Xx d M 1 . men myght well se 
Oure comely kynge for to abyde. 

Wot ze right well that thus it was 
Gloria tibi Trinitas. 

The kyng from Eltham sone he nam, 
Hyse presoners with hym dede brynge ; 
And to y e Blake Heth ful sone he cam, 
He saw london with oughte lesynge. 



1415.] LONDON BRIDGE. 105 

1 Heill Ryall london,' seyde our kyng, 
1 Crist y e kepe from euere care P 
And thanne zaf it his blessyng 
Arid preied to Crist that it well fare. 

Wot ze right well that thus it was, 

Gloria tibi Trinitas. 

The Mair hyra mette with moche honour 
With alle y e Aldermen with oughte lesyng ; 
1 Heyl,' seide y e Mair, ' thou conquerour, 
The grace of God with the doth spryng : 
Heil Duk, Heil Prynce, Heil comely Kyng ; 
Most worthiest Lord vndir Crist ryall, 
Heil rulere of Remes with oughte lettyng, 
Heil flour of knyghthood now ouer all.' 

Wot ze right well that thus it was, 

Gloria tibi Trinitas. 

4 Here is come youre Citee all 
Zow to worchepe, and to magnyfye ; 
To welcome zow bothe gret and small, 
With zow euere more to lyue and dye.' 
c Graunt mercy Sires,' oure kyng 'gan say, 
And toward london he 'gan ryde ; 
This was vp on Seynt Clemen tys day 
They welcomed hym on euery side. 

Wot ze right well that thus it was, 

Gloria tibi Trinitas. 

The lordes of Fraunee thei 'gan say then, 
c Jngelond is nought as we wene ; 
Jt farith by these Englyssh men, 
As it doth by a swarm of bene : 
Jngeland is lik an hyve with jnne, 
There fleeres makith vs full evell to wryng, 
Tho ben there arrowes sharpe and kene, 
Thorugh oure barneys they do vs styng.' 

Wot ze right well that thus it was, 

Gloria tibi Trinitas. 

To london Brygge thanne rood oure kyng, 
The processions there they mette hym ryght ; 
c Ave Rex Anglorum,' thei 'gan syng, 
1 Flos MundiJ thei seide, ' goddys knyght.' 
To london Brigge when he com right, 
Vp on the gate ther stode on hy 



166 CHRONICLES OF [a. B- 

A gyaunt, tliat was full grym of myght, 
To teche the Frensshe men curtesy. 

Wot ze right well that thus it was, 

Gloria tibi Trinitas. 

And at the Drawe brigge that is faste by, 

Two toures there were vp pight ; 

An Antelope and a Lyon stondyng hym by, 

Above them Seynt George oure lady's knyght. 

Be syde hym many an Angell bright, 

' Benedictus* thei 'gan synge ; 

< Qui venit in nomine domini, goddys knyght' 

' Gracia Dei with zow doth sprynge.' 

Wot ze right well that thus it was , 

Gloria tibi Trinitas." 

" Thus finish Lydgate's verses, so far as they relate to 
these Pageants on London Bridge ; but as they tell us 
nothing of the Royal display upon that occasion, let me 
remark to you,, that we are told, in an Heraldical Manu- 
script in the Harleian Collection, No. 6079, folio 24 a, 
that * At the cominge in of Kinge Henry the V th out of 
Fraunce into Englande, his coursers were trapped w th 
trappers of partye colours : scilicet, one syde blewe velute 
embroudered w th Antellopes sittinge vpon stayres w th 
longe flowers springinge betwixt their horns/ Which 
trappings were, by the King's order, subsequently given 
to the Abbey of Westminster for the vestry, where they . 
were converted into copes and other Ecclesiastical habits/ 3 

" But before you quite shut up your account of these 
Pageants, my good Mr. Postern," said I, as he came to 
a close, " let me say a word or two, touching those Royal 
supporters, which sat upon the columns on London 
Bridge ; since there are many curious little points of 
Antiquity to be met with in the history of Heraldic 
bearings. The first use of an Antelope as a supporter 
to the King's Arms, is doubtfully hinted at in a Manu- 
script in the Harleian Library in the British Museum, 
No. 2259, as having been so ancient as the reign of King 
Richard II.; though we are much more certain that 



1416.] LONDON BRIDGE. 16? 

King Henry IV. entertained a Pursuivant named Ante- 
lope, and probably adopted such an animal as his dexter 
supporter, from the family of Bohnn, Earl of Hereford 
and Essex, into which he married. The instance of a 
Lion also appearing as a supporter, is mentioned in 
Gough's c Sepulchral Monuments ',' which you have 
already quoted, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 08, from the information 
of John Charles Brooke, Esq., Somerset Herald, who 
says that when Henry V. became King, he bore on the 
dexter side of his Arms, a Lion rampant guardant, and 
on the sinister, an Antelope. We read also that he bore 
an Antelope and a Swan, and two Antelopes ; and you 
may see all these excellently drawn and described in 
Mr. Thomas Willemenf s ' Regal Heraldry, 1 London, 
1821, 4to., pp. 21, 28, 30, 33, and 36." 

" Many thanks to you, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican," re- 
commenced my visitor, " for this most opportune display 
of your Heraldical learning : and, in returning to London 
Bridge, I must observe, that as all history is but a record 
of the evanescent scenes of human life, it must, of course, 
be formed of all those strong lights and shades which are 
so very conspicuous in its original ; and hence arises that 
striking contrast of events, which so frequently fills us 
with solemnity and awe. We retire, perchance, from a 
banquet to a prison, or from a triumph to an execution ; 
at least, such is the nature of the next event which I 
find for our Chronicles, for the Towers of London Bridge 
usually claimed a portion in most of the victims of the 
axe and the scaffold. The principles of the Lollards, as 
they were invidiously called, were then rapidly spreading; 
and Sir John Oldcastle, commonly called the good Lord 
Cobham, was one of the most active leaders in the 
religious reform commenced by Wickliffe : as he was not 
only at a very considerable cost in collecting and trans- 
cribing his works, which he caused to be widely distri- 
buted, but he also maintained many of his disciples as 
itinerant preachers throughout the country. Oldcastle 



168 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

had, however, escaped from the power of the clergy who 
had condemned him as a heretic, and confined him in 
the Tower ; when King Henry being persuaded by them 
that he headed 20,000 Lollards for his destruction, he 
w r as attainted, and a large reward offered for his head : 
in confirmation of which Stow informs us, in his ; Annals,' 
p. 352, that on the ' viii day of October,' — 1416 — c was a 
Parchment maker of Trill-melle Streete drawne, hanged, 
and headed, for that he had harboured Sir John Old- 
castle:' and the Harleian Chronicle, No. 565, p. 77 a, 
adds, that his head ' was set upon London Bridge for 
tretory/ Another obscure person, most probably con- 
cerned in the same unhappy society, is also recorded as 
coming to a similar end : for, c John Benet, Woolman,' 
says Stow, in the place I last cited, ■ who had in London 
scattered sceduls full of sedition, was drawne, hanged, 
and beheaded on Michaelmas-day : ■ and the Harleian 
Chronicle adds, that his head was also fixed upon London 
Bridge. 

" Our next ceremonial procession over this edifice was 
the solemn and splendid funeral of King Henry V. ; 
when that gallant Sovereign had departed this life, on 
Monday, the last day of August, 1422, at the Castle of 
Bois de Vincennes, a short distance from Paris. That 
sumptuous spectacle is described in several places, 
although I do not find it mentioned either in the Life 
by Thomas of Elinham, or in that by Henry's Chaplain ; 
but Stow, in his c Annals,' p. 363, says that the Royal 
body arrived in London about the tenth of November, 
and so was conveyed by London Bridge through Cheap- 
side, to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where funeral 
exequies were performed ; and thence it was carried and 
interred in Westminster Abbey. As the corse advanced 
in rich and solemn procession over the Bridge, it was 
truly a magnificent and imposing spectacle. On a royal 
chariot, decorated with cloth of gold like a bed of state, 
was laid a figure exactly representing the late King, 



1422.] LONDON BRIDGE. 1G9 

habited in a robe of purple velvet, lined with ermine ; 
wearing an imperial diadem of gold and jewels on the 
head, and bearing in the hands, the regal sceptre, and 
the mound and cross. The face, which was painted 
exactly to resemble the life, was uncovered, and looking 
towards Heaven ; and on the bed lay a covering of red 
silk beaten with gold. The chariot was drawn by six 
stout horses, richly harnessed, with heraldic devices upon 
their housings : thus, the first bore the Arms of St. 
George; the second, of Normandy; the third, those of 
King Arthur ; the fourth, those of St. Edward the Con- 
fessor ; the fifth, the coat of France, alone ; and the 
sixth, those of France and England quarterly. When 
the chariot passed through any town of eminence, a rich 
and costly canopy was held over it, by some of its more 
honourable attendants ; and it was surrounded by three 
hundred torch -bearers habited in white ; by five thousand 
men-at-arms on horseback in black armour, holding their 
spears reversed ; and by a multitude of Lords bearing 
pennons, banners, and bannerolls : whilst twelve captains 
went before carrying the King's achievement. After the 
body followed the servants of the Household all in black ; 
then came James I., King of Scotland, as Chief Mourner, 
with the Princes and Lords of the Royal blood, in mourn- 
ing habits ; and lastly, at the distance of two miles in the 
rear, followed Queen Katherine, no less honourably 
attended. 

" We learn, also, from a very interesting history of 
King Henry V. in English, contained hi the Harleian 
Manuscripts, No. 35, fol. 138 a, that when the funeral 
6 should enter the Cittye, ten Bishopps, w th their ponti- 
ficall adornments revested, and many Abbotts mytored, 
and other men of the Church in great e number, with a 
right great multitude of Cittizens of the same Cittie, went 
out thereof to meet the Corps, and receaued it with due 
honnour. And all y e saide Spiritualls singinge, the officers 
accustomed in like case, conveyed the same Corps by 



170 CHRONICLES OF [a. D« 

London Bridge, and by Lumbart Street, throughe the 
Cheape vnto y e Cathedrall Churche of Sainte Paule.' 
This life of King Henry is partly a translation from the 
Latin of Titus Livius, an Historian of his reign who 
called himself by that name, and the French Chronicles 
of Enguerrant. The other particulars you will find set 
down in Stow, as I have already cited him, and in two 
Manuscript volumes of Heraldic ceremonies, in the Har- 
lejan Library, No. 2076, fol. 6 b, and No. 6079, fol. 
23 b ; and in finishing our imperfect notices of this reign, 
let me close with almost the very words of the good old 
London Historian to whom we are so much indebted — 
' Thus this most victorious and renowned King entred 
the way decreed for every creature, in the flower and 
most lusty time of his age, to wit, when he was six-and- 
twenty years old, when he had reigned nine years and 
five months with glory.' 

" You must, doubtless, worthy Mr. Barbican, well 
remember the discord which Shakspeare represents to 
have existed between the Protector, Humphrey Planta- 
genet, Duke of Gloucester, and Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop 
of Winchester : and the fray which takes place between 
their serving-men in blue coats and tawny coats, on 
Tower Hill. This is in his c First Part of Henry the 
Sixth,' Act 1, Scene 3; but we learn from Fabyans 
' Chronicle,' p. 413, that they once disturbed London 
Bridge with a brawl that wore a much darker aspect. 
It was customary in the more ancient days of this City, 
that the Lord Mayor should be elected on the Feast of 
St. Simon and St. Jude, on the 28th of October ; and 
that on the day following he should be sworn in at West- 
minster. It was then, during the subsequent banquet 
of Sir John Coventry, Citizen and Mercer, that the Pro- 
tector sent for him in great haste, and commanded him 
to watch the City securely during the night following ; 
and on Tuesday, the 30th of October, — for, in 1425, St. 
Simon and St. Jude's day happened on a Sunday, and 



1426.] LONDON BRIDGE. l7l 

therefore the Lord Mayor was elected the day after, — 
about nine in the morning, some of the Bishop's servants 
came from his Palace on the Bankside, to enter at the 
Bridge Gate, when the warders, as they were com- 
manded, kept them out by force. Upon which repulse, 
they retired in great discontent, and gathering together 
a larger body of Archers and men-at-arms than that 
which kept the gate, assaulted it as a hostile City. All 
London was immediately alarmed ; the Citizens shut 
their shops and hastened down to the Bridge in great 
multitudes; and a conflict would speedily have com- 
menced, had it not been for the prudence and mediation 
of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, Henry Chicheley, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Prince of Portugal ; 
who rode between the Protector and the Bishop, eight 
several times, ere they could bring them to any agree- 
ment ; until, at length, they both consented to refer their 
dispute to the decision of John Plantagenet, Duke of 
Bedford, and Regent of France. The quarrel was, how- 
ever, not concluded until the following Easter, which 
began on the last day of March. In defending London 
Bridge, the Protector appeared to be only retaliating 
upon the Bishop ; for, in the third article of his charges 
against him, he stated, that once, when he was quietly 
riding to attend the King, the Bishop attempted his 
death at the Bridge foot, by assembling archers and 
soldiers in Southwark ; by setting up engines to stop his 
way ; by drawing the chain, used in ancient fortifications, 
across the Bridge ; and by placing men in windows and 
turrets to cast down stones upon the heads of him and his 
followers. 

" I have already mentioned to you, that there were 
several Towers erected on London Bridge, both for 
defence and ornament ; although we have not any 
authentic historical notice concerning them, until we 
arrive at the year 1426, when Stow tells us in his 
6 Survey/ vol. i. pages 61, 65, that the Tower at the 



172 CHRONICLES OF [a, P. 

North end of the Drawbridge, over which the heads of 
Traitors were wont to be set, was then begun to be newly 
built, in the Mayoralty of Sir John Raynewell, Citizen 
and Fishmonger; who bore for his Arms, Parted per 
pale indented Argent and Sable, a Chevron Gules. He 
laid one of the first stones of the edifice, and the Bridge- 
Master, with John Arnold and John Higham, the Sheriffs, 
laid the others. Upon each of these four stones, the name 
IHESUS was engraven in fair Roman characters, and at 
the rebuilding of this Gate and Tower in April 1577, 
they were laid up as Memorials in the Bridge House. 
The Drawbridge over which it was erected, was, at this 
period, readily raised up or lowered, that ships might pass 
up the River to Queenhithe ; which was, during the use 
of this convenience, a principal strand for their lading 
and unlading, as being in the centre and heart of the 
City. 

" In the year 1428, we find a short, but certain proof, 
that the passing beneath London Bridge was not less 
dangerous, than it is at present. You will see the circum- 
stance mentioned in Stow's c Annals,' p. 369, but 1 prefer 
giving it you in the words of the often-mentioned Har- 
leian Manuscript, No. 565, fol. 87 b, which was, very 
probably, the original authority of the good old Chro- 
nicler. ' Also this same yere,' — says the record,—' the 
viij day of Nouember, the Duke of Norfolk, with many 
a gentil man, squyer, and yoman, tok his barge at Seynt 
Marye Ouerye be twen iiij and v of y e belle a yens nyzt, 
and proposyd to passe through London Bregge. Where 
of the forseid barge, thorugh mysgouernance of stearyng, 
fell vp on the pyles and ouerwhelmyd. The whyche 
was cause of spyllyng many a gentil man and othere ; 
the more ruthe was ! But as God wolde, y e Duke him 
self and too or iij othere gentyl men, seying that mys- 
chief, leped vp on y e pyles, and so were saved thorugh 
helpe of them that weren a bove y e Brigge with castyng 
downe of ropes/ The Duke of Norfolk, to whom this 



1432.] LONDON BRIDGE. 173 

misfortune happened, was John Mowbray, the second of 
that title, who had served under King Henry V. in 
France, and who died October the 19th, 1432. 

" We next come down to the April of 1431, when 
an association was formed at Abingdon, in Berkshire, 
headed by one William Mandeville, a weaver, and Bailiff 
of the Town, who entitled himself Jack Sharp, of Wig- 
more' s land, in Wales. The Protector took instant order 
for his apprehension, and when examined, he confessed 
that it was intended c to have made Priests' heads as 
plenty as Sheep's heads, ten for a penny.' His own, 
however, did not remain on his shoulders long after, for 
he was executed as a traitor, at Abingdon, and his head 
erected on London Bridge, whilst his companions were 
also hanged and quartered in other places. You find this 
fact related by Fabyan in his c Chronicle,' p. 422. 

" From these scanty notices of misery, infatuation, 
and ciime, it is with much delight that we turn to a 
spectacle of the greatest magnificence, and the most 
distinguished character, which London Bridge ever wit- 
nessed : the entrance of King Henry VI. to the City, 
after his Coronation as King of France, in the Church 
of Notre Dame, at Paris, on Friday, the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1431. On the 9th of the February following, he 
landed at Dover, and upon Thursday, the 21st of the 
same month, he w r as met by the Mayor and Corporation 
of London at Blackheath. Of their ceremony in con- 
ducting him towards the City, and the numerous Pageants 
which they had prepared to meet him at London Bridge, 
I shall now proceed to give you an account, extracted 
from Alderman Fabyan's i Chronicle,' vol. ii. pages 423 
— 125, and from Lydgate's Poem on the c Comynge of 
y e Kynge out of Fraunce to London ;' of wilich a very 
fail* copy is preserved in that Harleian Manuscript which 
I have already quoted, No. 565, fbl. 114 b. The verses 
by Lydgate are not very common in any form, and they 
have, as I think, been but once printed in connexion 



174 CHRONICLES OP £ A. D. 

with the History of London Bridge, which is in Malcolm's 
' Londinum Redivivum,' already cited, vol. ii. p. 397; 
and, although you may conceive that I quote too much 
of them, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of beginning 
at the very commencement, since it is but little less 
beautiful than Chaucer's immortal Tales. Listen, then, 
Mr. Barbican, I pray you listen ; if you have ears for 
either Poesy or Romance. 

4 Towarde the ende of vvyndy Februarie, 

Whanne Phebus was in y e fyssli ronne 
Out of the signe whiche callyd is Aquarie ; 
Newe kalendas were entred, and begonne 
Of Marches corayng, and the mery sonne 
Vp on a thorsday, shed hys bemys bright 
Vp on london, to make them glad and light. 

The stormy reynes of all there heuynesse 

Were passyd a way, and alle there greuaunce 

For the syxte Henry, rote of there gladnesse, 
Ther herty's joye, the worldis suffissaunce, 
By trewe assent was crownyd king of Fraunce. 

The heven reioysyng the day of his repaire, 

Made at his comynge the wether to be so faire. 

A tyme J trowe of God for hym prouydyd, 

Jn alle the heuenes there was no ciowde sayne ; 

From other dayes that day was so deuydyd, 
And fraunchisyd from mystys and from rayne. 
The erthe attempred, the wyndes smothe and playne, 

The Citezeines thorughe out the Citte 

Hallow'd that day with gret solemnnyte. 

And, lyk for Dauid after his victorie, 
Reioysyd was al Jerusalem ; — 

So this Cite with laude, pris, and glorie, 
For ioye mustred like the sonne heme, 
To geue ensample thorughe out this reem. 

Al of assent who can so conceyue, 

There noble Kyng were glad to resceyue. 

There clothyng was of colourful couenable, 
The noble Mair was clad in red velvet ; 

The Shireves, the Aldermen ful notable 
In furryd clokes, the colour of Scarlet ; 
In stately wyse whanne they were met 



1432.] LONDON BRIDGE. 1|5 

Ech one were wel horsyd and mad no delay, 
But with there Mai re rood fortlie in there way. 

The Citezeyns, ech one of the Citte, 

(In there entent that they were pure and clene) 
Chose them of white a ful faire lyuerye, 

In euery crafte as it was wel sene : 

To showe the trowthe that they dede mene 
Toward the kyng, hadde made them feithfully 
Jn sundry deuyses emhrowdyd richely. 
And for to rememhre of other alyens, 

First" Geneweys, — though thei were strangeres 
Florantynys and Venyciens, 

And Esterlynges clad in there maneres ; 

Conveyd with serjaunts and othere officeres, 
Statly horsyd after the Mair ridyng 
Passyd the subharbes to mete with the Kyng. 
To the Blake heth whanne they dyd atteyne 

The Mair, — of prudence in especially — 
Made them hove in renges tweyne 

A strete be twen ech party lik a wall ; 

All clad in whit, and the most principall 
A fore in red, with the Mair rydyng 
Tyl tyme that he saw the Kyng comyng. 
Thanne with his sporys he tok his hors a non — 

That to be holde it was a noble sight 
How lyk a man he to the Kyng is gon, 

Right well cheryd of herte glad and light ; 

Obeinge to hym as hym ought of right, 
And after that he kunnyngly a braid, 
And unto the King even thus he sayd. 
1 Souereigne Lord and noble Kyng ze be wolcome out of youre 
Rem of Fraunce in to this zoure blessyd Rem of Jngelond, and in 
especial vn to zoure most notable Citee of London, other wise called 
youre chambre ; we thankynge Almyghty God of the good and 
gracious acheuyng of zoure crowne of Fraunce : Besechynge of his 
rnercyful grace to sende zow prosperite and many yeris to the com- 
fort of alle zoure lovyng pepille.' 

1 But for to tellen alle the circumstauncys 

Of euery thyng, shewyd in centents, — {sentence) 

Noble deuyses, diuerse ordinauncys 

Conveid by Scripture with ful gret excellence,— 
Al to declare y have none eloquence ; 

"Wherfore y pray to alle tho that it schaile rede 

For to ccrrecte, where as they se nede.' 



176 CHRONICLES OF [a. d. 

6i So came tlie procession to London Bridge ; and I 
very much suspect that the Corporation of our good City 
was so economical, as to entertain King Henry with some 
of the very same pageants which it had displayed to his 
father seventeen years before : for we find Fabyan 
stating, that 4 when the Kyng was comen to y e Bridge, 
there was deuised a mightie Gyaunt, standyng with a 
sweard drawen.' However, Lydgate will tell the story 
in the more interesting terms, and he continues thus :< — 

' First, when they passyd, was y e Fabour 
Entring y e Brigge of this noble Towne, 
There was a peler reysyd lik a Tour, 
And theron stod a sturdy champyoun ; 
Of look and chere stern as alyoun, 
His swerd, vp rered prowdly, 'gan manace 
Alle foreyn enemyes from the Kyng to enehace. 

And in defens of his estat Rialle 

The geauot wolde abyde ech auenture ; 
And alle assautes that were marcyall 

For his sake he proudly wolde endure ; 

In token wher of he hadde a long scripture 
On either syde, declaryng his entent, 
Whyche sayde thus by good avisenient. 
c Inimicos ejus induam confusioneJ — Psalm cxxxii. 18. 
' Alle those that ben enemy s to the Kyng 

J schal them clothe withe confucion : 
Make hym myghti by vertuos leuyng, 

His mor tall f one to oppressen and bere a down ; 

And hym to encreasen as Criste's champion, 
Alle my schevys from him to abrigge 
With the grace of God at the entryng of this Brigge.'* 

Too Antilopis stondyng on either syde, 

With the Armes of Jngelond and of Fraunce ; 

Jn token that God schalle for hym provide 
As he hath title by iuste eneritaunce, 
To regne in pees, plente, and alle plesaunce : 

Cesyng of werre, that menmyzte ryden and gon, 

As trewe liegis there hertys mad bethe oon.' 

" c And when,' says Fabyan, ' the Kyng was passed 
the first gate, and was comen to the Draw-bridge, there 
was ordeined a goodly tower, hanged and apparailed with 



1432.1 LONDON BRIDGE. 17? 

silke and clothes of arras, in most riche wise/ Of whicK 
building thus speaks Ljdgate : 

4 Forthermore, so as the Kyng 'gan ryde, 

Myddes of the Brigge ther was a toure on lofte ; 
The Lord of Lordes beynge ay his gyde 
As he hath be, and yit wil be full ofte : 
The toure araied with velwetty softe, 
Clothys of gold, silk, and tapicerie, 
As apperteynyth to his Regalye. 
And at his comyng, of excellent beaute 

Benygne of port, most womanly of chere, 
There issued out Emperesses thre, 

Ther hair displaied as Phebus in his sphere ; 
With crownettys of gold, and stones clere, 
At whos out comyng thei gaf swyche a light 
That the beholders were stonyed in there sight. 
Nature. The first of them was callyd Nature, 

As sche that hathe vndyr here demayne 
Man, beest, and foul, and euery creature,. 

With jnne the bondys of here gohlyn cheyne ; 
Eke heuene, and erthe, and euery creature, 
This Emperesse of custum dothe embrace ; 
Grace. And next her com her Suster callyd Grace. 
Passyng famous and of gret reuerence, 

Most desyryd in alle regiouns ; 
For where that euere shewith here presence 
She bryngith gladnes to Citees and to townys; 
Of all well fare she halt the possessionys : 
For, y dar sey, prosperite in no place 
No while abidith, but if there be Grace. 
Jn token-e that Grace shal longe continue, 
Vn to the Kyng she shewyd her ful benygne; 
Fortune* And next here com the Emperesse Fortune, 
To hym aperyng with many a noble signe 
And Rialle tokenys, to shewe that he was digne 
Of God disposyd, as lust ordeygne 
Vp on his hed to were crownes tweyne. 
2\Fatura, These thre Ladies, al of on entent, 
Gracia, Thre goostly gyftes, heuynly and deuyne, 
et For- Vn to the Kyng a non they dyd present, 
tuna. And to his highnesse they dyd a non enclyne : 

And what they weren pleynly to determyne, 
Grace gaf hym first at his corny nge 
Two ryche gyftes, Sciens and Cunnynge. 
N 



178 CHRONICLES OP £a. D*. 

Nature gaf hym eke Strengthe and Fayrnesse, 
For to be louyd and dred of euery wight ; 

Fortune gaf hym eke Prosperite and Richesse, 
With this scripture aperyng in ther sight, 
To hym applied of verey due right : — 
1 First vndirstonde, and wilfully procede, 

And longe to regnej the Scripture seide in dede. 

' Intende prosperitate procede et regno- J. 

1 This is to niene, whoso vndirstondith a right, 

Thou schalt by Fortune haue long prosperite ; 

And by Nature thou shalt have strengthe and mighty 

Forth to procede in long f elicit e ; 

And Grace also hath gr aunty d vn to the, 
Vertuosly long in thi Roialle Citet 
With Sceptre and crowne to regne in equyie? 

On the right hand of these Emperesses 

Stode vij madenys, very celestiall ; 
Like Phebus bemys shone there golden tresses, 

Vp on there hedes ech hauyng a crownall : 

Of port and chere semyng immortall, 
In sight transsendyng alle erthely creatures, 
So angelik they weren of there figures* 

All clad in white, in token of clennesse, « 

Liche pure Virgynes as in there ententys, 

Schewynge outward an heuenly fresh brightnesse ; 
Stremyd with sonnys weren alle there garmentys. 
A forum prouydyd for pure jnnocentys, 

Most columbyne of chere and of lokyug, 

Mekly roos vp at the comyng of the Kyng. 

They hadde on bawdrikes al on saphir hewe 
Goynge outward, 'gan the kyng salue ; 

Hym presentyng with ther gyftes newe, 
Lik as thei thought it was to hym duwe : 
Whiche gostly giftes here in ordre 'suwe 

Down descendyng as siluer dewe from heuene, 

Al grace includyd with jnne the giftes sewene. 

These riall giftes ben of vertu most, 

Goostly corages most soueraygnely delite ; 

The giftes callyd of the Holy Goost 

Outward figuryd by seven dowys {doves) white ; 
Seyenge to hym, lik as clerkes write, 
i God the fulfillc with intelligence, 

And with a spirit of goostly sapience? 



1432.] . LONDON BRIDGE. 170 

' Impleat te Deus Spiritu sapientias, et intellectus, 
Spiritu consilii, et fortitudinis, scicntice, et pietatis, 
et spiritu timoris Domini,'' 

1 God sende also, to thimoost availe, 
The to preserue from all heuynesse, 

A spirit of strenghthe, and of good counsaile, 
Of ' cunnyng, drede, pile, and of lownesseS 
Thus tliise ladies 'gan there gyftes dresse, 

Graciously at there out cornyng, 

By influence light vp on the kyng. 

These Emperesses hadde on there left syde 

Othere vij Yirgines pure and clene ; 
By accordaunce continually to a byde, (shining stars} 

Al clad in white samete (satin) ful of sterres shene ; 

And to declare what they wolde mene 
Vn to the Kyng with ful gret reuerence, 
These wreten there gyftes shortly in sentence : 

■* Induat te Dominus Corona Glories, Seeptro Clementice f 
Gladio Justitice, Pal Ho Prudentice, Scuto Fidei, 
Galea Salutis, et Vinculo Pads.' 

6 God the endue with a crowneof glorie, 

And with a Sceptre of clennesse and pit e ; 
, And with a shield of right and victorie, 

And with a mantel of prudence clad thou be : 
A shelde of feithfor to defende thee, 
An helme of helthe wrought to thine encres, 
Girt with a girdell of loue and perfect pees^ 

These vij Virgynes of sight most heuenly 
"With herte, body, and handy s reioysyng, 

And of there cheres aperid murely, 

For the Kynge's gracious horn cornyng : 
And for gladnesse they be gan to synge 

Most angelik, with heuenly armonye, 

This same roundell which y shall now specific. 

' Souerayne lord wolcome to zoure Citee, 

Wolcome oure Joye, and our hertys plesaunce ; 
Wolcome, wolcome., right wolcome mote ye be, 

Wolcome oure gladnes, wolcome oure suffisaunce ; 
Syngyng to fore thi Rialle mageste 

We saye of herte with oughten variaunce 
Souereign lord wolcome, wolcome oure Joye, 
Wolcome you be } vnto your owne newe Troye? 
n2 



180 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

c Mayr, Citezines, and al the commonte. 

At zoure horn comyng new e out of Fraunce } 
By grace releuyd of there olde greuaunce, 

Synge this day with gret solempnyte. 1 

Thus resceyuyd, an esy paas rydyng 
The King is entred in to yis Citee.' 

" The King next passed on to the Conduit in Cornhill, 
where he was awaited by other Pageants equally sump- 
tuous and interesting ; but as these are out of our pro- 
vince, we shall mention them no farther. 

" There seems to have gone abroad a singular concep- 
tion, that the Chapel of St. Thomas on London Bridge 
did not exist beyond the time of King Henry the Sixth ; 
in the 23rd year of whose reign, — 1458, — there were four 
chaplains serving in it ; though it was originally founded 
but for two Priests, four Clerks, and their officers, inde- 
pendently of the several chantries, or revenues, left to 
the establishment, for the singing of daily mass for the 
souls of its benefactors. The income of the Chapel, 
however, more than ten years before that period, was 
considered as worthy of some inquiry on the part of a 
neighbouring ecclesiastic ; for we find, in Newcourt's 
4 Repertorium/ which I have already cited, vol. i. p. 396, 
the following particulars concerning it. 4 In the year 
1433,' says this Author, ' Sir John Brockle, then Mayor 
of London, upon a controversie that was then like to 
arise between the said Mayor and Commonalty of Lon- 
don, and the Bridge -Masters on the one part, and Richard 
Morysby, Archdeacon of London, and Rector of St. 
Magnus Church, on the other, about the oblations and 
other spiritual profits, which were made in a certain 
Chapel, called the Chapel of St. Thomas on the Bridge, 
within the precincts of this parish ; there was a compo- 
sition, or agreement, then made, and confirmed by 
Robert Fitzhugh, then Bishop of London, whereby 
(inter alia) it was agreed, that the Chaplains of the 
Chapel, and their successors, should receive all the 



1433.] LONDON BRIDGE. 181 

profits of the Chapel to the use of the same, and the 
Bridge, and should pay yearly at Michaelmas the sum 
of xxd. to the said Church of St. Magnus, and to the 
Rector of the same, and to his successors for ever/ 

" And now that we are speaking of the property ap- 
pertaining to London Bridge, it will be a fit place to give 
you some idea whence it was in general derived ; I say, 
in general, because the inquiry into all its sources would 
be not only difficult, but almost impossible. Stow tells 
you in his c Survey,' vol. i. p. 59, that after the erection 
of buildings upon London Bridge, ' many charitable men 
gave lands, tenements, or sums of money, towards the 
maintenance thereof; all which was sometimes noted, 
and in a table fair written for posterity remaining in the 
Chapel, till the same Chapel was turned to a dwelling- 
house, and then removed to the Bridge- House/ The 
honest old Antiquary states, however, that he would 
willingly have given a copy of this table of benefactors, 
but that he could not procure a sight of it ; for, as he 
was known to be a notable restorer of decayed and dor- 
mant charities, he was occasionally refused admission to 
such records as would have enabled him to compile a 
lasting register of all the pious gifts and benefactions in 
London. He never hesitated to reprove unfaithful 
Executors, whether Corporations, or private persons, 
some of which he caused to perform the testaments 
which they proved ; whilst the dishonesty of others he 
left on record to futurity. It is then not to be wondered 
at, if he oftentimes met with a repulse instead of inform- 
ation ; ignorance opposed him in one quarter, and interest 
in another ; and he might very well have taken up the 
significant though homely complaint of Ames, when he 
was composing his History of Printing, c Some of those 
persons treats folks, as if they came as spies into their 
affairs/ We have, however, some particulars of the 
Bridge property, as well collected by Stow, as gathered 
since his time ; and, firstly, I must notice to you, that 



182 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

at p. 60 of his c Survey/ he states, that ' John Fecken- 
ham, Civis et BracciatorJ — Citizen and Brewer, or per- 
haps, Com- Meter,— ' by his will, dated May 11th, I486, 
bequeathed to the Mayor and Commonalty of the City 
of London, a Tenement with a Shop and Garden, in the 
Parish of St. Augustine Pappey/ — that is to say in St. 
Mary at Axe, — ; between the tenement and lands of the 
Bridge of the City of London on the East, &c. To have 
to the Mayor and Commonalty of London, ad usum et 
sustentationem operis Pontis prcedictis in perpetuum, — 
for the use and support of the work of the aforesaid 
Bridge for ever, — c on condition that the Chaplains of 
the Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr, on the Bridge, 
celebrating, have his soul, and also the souls of the late 
Lord Richard II., King of England, Edward Boteler, 
knight, and the Lady Anne his wife, Richard Sfcorme, 
and Alice his wife, and the soul of Joan, his' — the said 
Feckenham's — ' wife, perpetually recommended in their 
prayers/ You may see both the original and an 
authentic copy of this Will, and that which I shall 
hereafter mention, in the Bishop of London's Registry in 
St. Paul's Cathedral. The Chamber in which they are 
kept is entered through the Vestry on the Northern 
side of the nave ; whence a flight of dark winding stairs, 
lighted only by loop-holes, leads you to a small square 
room, surrounded by oaken presses containing the 
original Wills tied up in bundles. The Calendar, or 
Index to the Register Books, extends from 1418 to 1599 ; 
all after that year being kept at the Bishop's Consistory 
Court in Great Knight-Ryder Street. It is a small folio 
volume, having a parchment cover, anciently tied with 
strings, and is written in a small neat black text upon 
parchment, though now much soiled by time and the 
continual dust of the chamber. If ever you visit this 
Registry, however, I would not have you trust too much 
to this Calendar ; for in referring to the Will which I 
have now quoted, its volume and page are called ' Moore, 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 183 

prima pars, folm hi).;' though the true reference is 
6 3 Moore, folio cccclxij. a.' This volume, Moore, is so 
called from the first Will entered in it, and it contains 
registers of Wills from the year 1418 to 1438, beautifully 
written in a small black text upon parchment, in a very 
thick square folio. 

" Another benefactor to London Bridge mentioned by 
Stow, was one John Edwards, Citizen and Butcher, who 
< gave by his Will, dated the 8th of November, 1442, 
to John Hatherle, Mayor of the City of London, and to 
John Herst and Thomas Cook, Masters of the work of 
the Bridge of London, for ever, his tenement, with a 
garden, in the Parish of St. Botolph, Aldgate, situate 
between the tenement lately John Cornwallys's on the 
South, &c, and extending from the King's Street leading 
from Aldgate towards the Tower on the West, &c., 
towards the sustaining and reparation of the said Bridge,' 
You will find this Will in the Register called 4 Stacy, 
now Prowet, fol. ciiij. b, which extends from 1438 to 
1449 ; though the Calendar marks it as entered at fol. 
xxv. Both of these Wills are in Latin. 

" Without, at present, referring to the multitudes of 
books and records of Bridge property, which must exist 
in the office of the Comptroller of its Estates, I will give 
you an abstract of one of these volumes, of which a 
Manuscript copy is to be found in the Harleian Col- 
lection in the British Museum, No. 6016, fol. 152. 
. This book is entitled c A Repertory by way of Survey, 
of all the forren landes belonging to London Bridge, to 
geather with all the quitt rents due to, and other rents 
due from the same :' and the industrious mortal w T ho 
copied it out has added, c Borrowed the booke 21°. fFebr. 
1653 of Captaine Richard Lee, Clarke of the Bridge- 
house/ The Survey is written in corrupt and abbre- 
viated Latin, which, from the expressions which are 
made use of, would appear like the language of the 
fifteenth century ; and it contains many curious parti- 



184 CHRONICLES OF [a. J?. 

culars of the names of persons and places, not elsewhere 
to be found. I purpose, however, giving you only a 
general statement of the amount of Bridge-property in 
different places, with a few notices and extracts from the 
more interesting parts; reminding you that these ab- 
stracts have never yet been printed. — In the Parish of 
St. Andrew the Bishop, London Bridge possessed 20 
huts or cabins, occupied by the Brotherhood of Friars 
Minors, which were valued at 12/. 3s. Ad. Then follows 
an entry of 4 Lands and Meadows belonging to the 
Bridge of London without the bar of Southwark, at Le 
Loke, in Hattesham, Carnerwelle, Lewesham, and Strat- 
ford.' In Lambeth field without Southwark, or St. 
George's bar, 19 acres of land, lying towards Newington 
and Lambeth, held of the Prior of Bermondsey, for the 
yearly rent of 14s. 10c?. At Le Loke, — that is to say, 
partly on the site of the New Kent Road, and on part 
of which was, doubtless, built that row of houses in 
Blackman Street, now called Bridge-house-Place, — 4 
acres of arable land, called Longland, and 2^ acres and 
1 rood of meadow land, held by the yearly rent of 5s. 
lOeL, payable at the Feast of St. Michael. Also, on the 
South part of King Street, 2 acres of arable, and 2 acres 
of meadow land, called Carpenterishawe, held of the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, at the yearly rent of 6d, 
payable at the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. 
Also near St. Thomas Wateringgs, on the South part of 
King's Street, 7 acres of arable, and two acres of meadow 
land, called Fourecrofts, by the yearly rent of 4s. 8i., 
payable at the Feast of St. Michael and at Easter; 
another piece of land lying towards Hattesham, — per- 
haps Hatcham Manor,— containing ten acres of arable, 
and 2^ acres and 1 rood of meadow land, called Tevatree, 
was held for the same sum. At Le Steerte, near the 
wall of Bermondsey, one acre of meadow ground, for 
the rent of 2d. per annum ; and at Hattesham, at the 
entrance of the Marsh, 6 acres of arable land enclosed by 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 185 

a ditch, were held of the heirs of Simon de Kyme, for 
the rent of one penny per annum. In Lewisham, Lon- 
don Bridge seems to have had large possessions, since 
they were let out to farm at the immense rent of 3/. 4s. ; 
and to the property of the Manor was attached the 
ancient feudal rights of heriot, — taking of the best beast, 
when a new tenant came on the estate ; wardship, — the 
holding and enjoying the profits of a tenant's land, who 
was a minor; marriage, — claiming assistance from all 
the tenants once, to furnish a dowry for the Lord's eldest 
daughter ; Reliefs and Escheats, — the payment of a cer- 
tain sum on the entry of a new tenant, and the return 
of forfeited estates. The land itself was divided, and 
the original rents were as follow : 

Cl ( 24 and ] 1 acres of arable land, called the Gregge-house, 5 
acres of wood, in two groves, 42 acres of arable land, and 2 acres 
of meadow land, held of the Abbot of Gaunt, at the yearly rent of 
14s. 9±d. ; 22 acres held of the heirs of Lord John de Backwell 
Knight, at the yearly rent of 3s. ; 10 acres, and 10 acres in the 
field called Edwinesfelde, held of the Abbot of Stratford, at the 
yearly rent of \0d. ; 2 acres held of the heirs of Lord William 
Bonquer, Knight, at the yearly rent of 8d. ; 1^ acre lying in the 
road near Depeford Bregge, held of the heirs of William Clekots, 
at the yearly rent of 1|J. ; 3 acres in a croft near Leuesham 
Street, held of the heirs of Henry Boyding, and William Atteford, 
at the yearly rent of 2d. ; 1^- acre at Rombeigh, for which nothing 
is paid ; 10 acres in the field called Brodefelde, held of the heirs 
of William de Hinntingfeld, Knight, at the yearly rent of Is. 8d. 
Item. There is owing for the said Manor to the heirs of Nicholas 
de Farndon, the yearly rent of \d. At Leuesham, a water-mill, 
with 2 acres of pasture belonging to it, held of divers persons for 
the^rent of Is. 5c?. and half a quarter of corn out of the tolls 
yearly, and the value of the tenths^ from this time forth for ever,' 

" The possessions of London Bridge, at Stratford, have 
been already referred to, but for the sake of perspicuity, 
I repeat them, and they were as follow : — One water- 
mill, called c Saynesmelle/ and four acres of meadow 
land belonging to the same ; ' whereof one acre lies within 
the close of the said mill, and four roods opposite to it 
on the east; and they are everywhere planted round 



186 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

with willows/ One acre and one rood of meadow land 
lie near ' Wy Idem ershbregge,' and are called 4 Hors- 
lese/ They are held of the heirs of the Lord Richard 
de Playz, Knight, for the yearly rent of XI. 17 '&. — Also 
at Stratford are ten acres of meadow land held of the 
same, and for the same rent : whereof four acres are 
adjoining to the mill-pond called c Spileman s Melle,' and 
four acres are lying near to the meadow called 6 Grygge- 
wy die's Mead/ and adjoin, in like manner, to the same 
mill-stream. And one acre lies near the Bridge called 
' ' Wildenmersshbregge,' and is enclosed by willows ; and 
three roods of the same meadow lie near c Golynant/ 
and one acre and one rood of the same meadow are lying 
in one piece, adjoining to the mill-stream of ' Saynes- 
melle. ,, At Royeshope, is one acre of meadow land, 
formerly held by John Breggewrythe, at the yearly rent 
of 2$., which is held, &c, as aforesaid. Also there are 
of the same, 1^ rood near Horslese, originally bought by 
Roger Atte-vyne, and John Sterre, then Keepers of the 
Bridge, which are held of the heirs of Thomas le Bele- 
vere, for the annual rent of Id. 9 The Vicar of West- 
Ham also held one acre of meadow, assigned to him for 
his ty the for the whole meadow; and 13s. 4d. were 
paid to him yearly, as tythe for the two mills. At 
Stratford, also, was another water-mill belonging to 
London Bridge, called c Spylemanne's Melle,' which was 
held of the heirs of Lawrence Stede, for the payment of 
Id. yearly ; which mill being of Sutlers estate, ty thes 
were paid for it by that estate, and it was therefore free 
for ever. There were also four acres of meadow and 
pasture belonging to it. All the foregoing were, at 
the time of this survey, let out to farm by London 
Bridge. 

" Such were some of its possessions out of the metro- 
polis ; and I now proceed to notice that more interesting 
part of the volume, entitled, ' Quit-rents of London 
Bridge, issuing from divers tenements of London and 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 187 

Southwark, according as they lie in different Parishes ; 
and, firstly, of its property in the Parish of St. Magnus 
the Martyr/ 

" 6 Three shops, with galleries built upon them, now 
held by Robert Kots and Lawrence Schrouesbury, 
Glovers, standing at the Bridge stairs towards London, 
with the houses belonging to London Bridge on the 
South side. They were formerly belonging to the Frater- 
nity called " Le Salue" in the Church aforesaid. Two 
shops with galleries built thereupon, held by Peter Wy- 
dynton, Spicer, belonging to the same Fraternity, which 
are situated by the same stairs, between the way leading 
down to the common sewer on the South ; the tenements 
belonging to the same Fraternity on the North, the 
tenements of John Zakesle on the East, and the King's 
road on the North ; and they owe yearly to the Bridge 
of London, 3s/ Another Tenement, held by Henry 
Ziuele, Mason, paid 5s. : and it was situate between the 
King's Road on the East, and the Oyster Gate on the 
West. Another Tenement paid 5 marks, — 3/. 6s. 8d, ; — 
it stood ' at the corner opposite to St. Magnus* Church/ 
between the King's Road towards " Byllyngesgate " on 
the South, and the King's Road, called " Bregge-streete," 
on the West. It belonged to a certain perpetual Chantry 
in St. Magnus' Church, for the soul of Thomas le Bener ; 
also belonging to the same Chantry, and standing about 
the same spot, was a tavern, which paid to the Bridge 
2s. 6d. yearly, and the shop of the same paid Is. 3d. 
Certain other shops and tenements belonging to Richard, 
the son of John Home, — perhaps the eminent Town- 
Clerk of that name, whom I have already mentioned, — 
paid 21. of yearly rent ; and they were lying near the 
narrow way called Rederes lane on the East, in the Pa- 
rishes of St. Magnus and St. Roth'i. A house belonging 
to the Priory and Convent of St. Mary, in Southwark, 
paid Is. : it stood between Oystergate on the East, and 
the houses belonging to St. Magnus' Church on the 



188 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

West ; and extended from the King's Road, called 
" Stokfissmongeres Rewe," on the North, down to the 
River Thames on the South. Another house in the 
Bridge Street, standing by that of John Somervyle, the 
Goldsmith, paid 8s. 9d. to the Bridge; as did also an 
adjoining shop and house ; thus making the whole Bridge 
Rents in St. Magnus' Parish amount to 71* 8s. lid. per 
annum. I have been the more particular in detailing 
the property of London Bridge in this part of the City, 
because it in some measure illustrates the ancient state 
of it ; but I shall be much more brief, — and, I dare say, 
much more to your content, — in speaking of its posses- 
sions in the other parishes mentioned in this Manuscript. 

& c In the Parish of St. Botolph, near Byliyngesgate,' the Bridge 
owned the following : 

"* One Tenement in the King's Street leading to * Byliynges- 
gate,' 16s. One Tenement, a Granary, or Brewery, with two 
Shops in the same, 12c?. Total 17 5. 

" * In the Parish of St. Mary atte Hulle.' One Messuage on 
4 Byllyngesgate 1 Quay, called the ' Boleheued,' lis. Sd. The 
Priory and Convent of the Holy Trinity on the Quay called ' Tre- 
yerswarfe, 65. Sd. The house of William Walworth in the narrow 
way leading to i Treyerswarfe,' 3s. 4d. Total £1. Is. Sd. 

u ' In the Parish of St. Dunstan the Bishop, towards the Tower 
of London. ' A Tenement called ' Cokedenhalle,' standing • at 
the corner of the narrow way called Martelane/ on the East, and 
the Tenements belonging to St. Dunstan's Church on the West, 
and the King's Road called, ' le Tourstreete' on the South, 85. 
A Tenement adjoining the same, 7s. A Tenement belonging to 
John Atte Vyne, son and heir of William Atte Vyne, standing 
near, l the narrow way called Mengehouslane,' 3s. A Tenement 
belonging to ' Gyhalle,' standing between the corner of the narrow 
way called ' le Chirchelane,' Eastward, and the foregoing is. Sd. 
The house of Andrew the Canon, standing West of the foregoing, 
45. Sd. Tenements of John Pyebaker, belonging to the same 
Canon, 25. 6d. ; of Alie. Bemehoo, belonging to the same Canon, 
25. 6d. ; of John Morton, Clerk, in the corner of the Church- 
yard of St. Dunstan's, near the narrow passage leading to the 
Tower, 45, 8c?. ; of Isabella Rotheryng and her sister, standing by 
the Thames, 25. Total £1 . 1 95. 

" e In the Parish of All Saints de Berkyngchurch.' A Tene- 
ment of John Longe, the Fishmonger, standing between the 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 189 

Tenements of London Bridge, on the East, the Tenements of 
Walter Denny, the Fishmonger, on the West, and ' le Tourstreete' 
on the North, 3s. 

11 * In the Parish of St. Andrew Hubert in Estchepe/ A 
corner Tenement held by Richard Croydon, standing by the said 
Church on the North, between the narrow way adjoining, and the 
King's way called c Seyntandrewys-lane' on the West, 125. 

" 4 In the Parish of St. Margaret in Brigge Streete.' A Tene- 
ment of John Littele, the Fishmonger, standing in * le Crokede- 
lane,' 4s. 

" i In the Parish of St. Leonard, the Abbot, in Estchepe.' 
One Tenement in ' Candelwykstreete,' held by William Yuory, 
£1. 6s. Qd. A Shop held by the same, between the Tenements 
of the Prior and Convent of - Cristecherche, , on the North, and 
the King's road, called c Grascherchestrete,' on the East, 85. 
Another Tenement, Is. Another Tenement standing by the 
corner Tenement of the Hospital of the Blessed Mary without 
4 Busshopisgate,' on the North, and the King's road, called i Est- 
chepe/ on the East, 2s. A Tenement of the Prioress of St. 
Helen's, having * Grascherchestrete' on the»West, 13*. 4c?. There 
was also another Tenement of ]s. rent, having Eastcheap on the 
East. Total £2. 12s. 

u< In the Parish of St. Benedict de Grascherche. ' One Tene- 
ment, a Granary, or Brewery, with two Shops, of Benedict de 
Cornewayle, having the King's road, called * Fancherchestreete ' to 
the South, 9s. Ad. 

" ' In the Parish of All Saints de Grascherche.' One Tene- 
ment with a forge and 4 Shops, standing between the corner 
Tenement of the Prior and Convent of Ely on the South, and the 
Tenement belonging to the Brethren of the Cross, called * le Car- 
dinaleshat' on the North, and the King's road, called ' Grascherch- 
strete' on the West, 40s. A Granary, 5s. Total £2. 5s. 

" * In the Parish of St. Katherine de Cricherch.' A Granary 
standing in a corner between the narrow way called Bellezeterslane 
on the East, and the Tenement of Philip Page on the West, 8s. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Mary Attenaxe.' Ten Shops, with 
Galleries built upon them, standing in a corner, between the King's 
way, which is between London Wall and the aforesaid Shops, and 
the way that leads from the Church of St. Mary Attenaxe, to the 
Church of ' St. Augustine Papheye,' on the West, Is. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Augustine Papheye.' The Tenement of 
Richard Schet, Fuller, standing by the Tenements of London 
Bridge on the East, and the King's road under London Wall 
on the North, and the Garden of the Prior of Cricherch on the 
South, 12c?. 



190 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Martin Otiswych.' A Tenement with 
a large door, and a Shop on both sides of it, standing between the 
Church-yard on the North, and the King's road, called ' Bisshopis- 
gatestreete,' on the East, 3s. 

" \ In the Parish of St. Michael upon Cornhulle. ' A Tenement 
with two Shops, having Cornhill upon the South, 8s. 

" i In the Parish of St. Edmund in Lumbardstrete.' Certain 
Tenements with Shops, standing between the Tenements of St. 
Thomas's Hospital in ' Sothewarke,' on the North, and the King's 
way, called t Bercherslane, , on the West. They owe yearly to 
London Bridge, by the Will of Henry of Gloucester, Goldsmith, 5s. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Clement, near Candelwykstret.' A 
Tenement of the Abbot and Convent of Stratford, standing between 
the Tenement of Thomas Clench, Fishmonger, on the South, the 
Tenement of the perpetual Chantry of the said Church, which was 
formerly John de Charteneys, on the North, and the narrow way 
called ' Seyntclementslane' on the West. It owes yearly to Lon- 
don Bridge, by the legacy of Henry of Gloucester, 2s. A Tene- 
ment with four Shops, 2s. Three Shops with galleries erected upon 
them, and a certain place called ' Wodehagh,' bounded on the 
South by Candlewick-street, 4s. Total 8s. 

" i In the Parish of St. Michael in le Crokedelane. ' A Tene- 
ment in Stokfisschmongeresrewe/ belonging to the Chaplain of 
' Kyngeston.' 5s. An ancient Tenement, having the Tenement of 
the perpetual Chantry of the said Church, which was formerly 
John Abel's, on the West, and the narrow way called ' Crokede- 
lane' on the North, 5s. Total 10s. 

" ' In the Parish of All Saints the Less.' A Tenement having 
the Tenements of St. Bartholomew's Hospital on the West, and 
the King's way called ' Tamystrete* on the South, 4s. Certain 
Tenements standing in the short narrow way of St. Lawrence, 
between the Tenement of the Master of St. Lawrence's College on 
the North, and Thames-street on the South, 10s. The Tenement 
of the said Master, 6s. Total 20s. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Lawrence, near Candelwykstret.' A 
Tenement belonging to ' Gyldhalde' of London, having the College 
of the said Church on the East ; the narrow way which goes from 
the Church-yard of the same Church to Candlewyck-street, on the 
West; the said Church-yard on the South ; and a Tenement be- 
longing to a perpetual Chantry in the Church of St. Swythin on 
the North, 19s. 8c?. 

"'In the Parish of the Blessed Mary of Abbecherch.' A 
Tenement, having the Tenement of the Hospital of St. Katherine, 
near the Tower, on the North, and the Burial-place of the aforesaid 
Church on the East, 10s. 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 191 

" ' In the Parish of St. Swythin the Bishop.' A Tenement 
held by Solomon Faunt, standing between the Church aforesaid on 
the South ; the Tenement of Henry Fyuyan, Draper, on the 
North, and the King's way called ' Swythynislane' on the East, 
2s. 6d. The Tenement of the said Henry Fyuyan, standing by 
that of John Hende, Draper, 2s. Total 4s. 6d. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Mary de Bothhaghe.' A Tenement 
held by Lord Thomas de Salesbury, Knight, standing between true 
Tenement with the Great G ate also belonging to the same, on the 
East, and Candlewick-street on the South, I2d. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Stephen de Walbrok.' Two Tenements 
under one edifice, standing by the Tenement of John Norwich, the 
Goldsmith, on the South, and the King's way, called Walbrook, 
on the West, '2s. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Mary Woolnoth.' A corner Tenement, 
which formerly was Hamon Lumbard's, having the narrow street, 
called * Seyntswythinislane,' to the East, and that called ' Berebyn- 
dereslane,' to the South, 13s. 4d. Another Tenement standing in 
a corner in ' Schytelboanelane,' 2s. Total 15*. Ad. 

<* ( In the Parish of St. Bartholomew the Less. A Tenement, 
a Granary, or Brewery/ having the King's way called 'Bradde- 
strete,' on the North, 2s. 6d. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Pancras.' One Cell, called ' le Brode- 
celde,' of which one entrance is by the large open place towards 
* Soperslane ' on the East, and another is toward ' Chepe,' at the 
sign of the Key, on the North, 6s. Sd. 

" * In the Parish of St. Michael at Queen's bank,' — or Wharf. 
— c A Tenement, with its offices, which belongs to the Abbot and 
Convent of the Monastery of the Blessed Mary of Grace, near the 
Tower of London : it stands in a corner between the narrow way 
that leads to the Saltewarf on the East, and the Tenement of the 
Abbot of Jesus on the West, and it extends from the narrow way, 
called " Ratonneslane," on the North, down to the Thames South- 
ward,' 2s. 

" * In the Parish of St. Martin at Ludgate.' A Tenement with 
a forge standing in a corner without Ludgate, having the narrow 
street, called ' Littlebayly,' on the West, and the King's way, 
called ' Fletestrete,' on the North, 9s, 

" 'In the Parish of St. Bridget, the Virgin, in Flet-strete.' A 
Tenement, a Granary called ' le Horsothehop,' with two Shops, 
having Fleet-street on the North, and belonging to a certain 
Chantry in St. Paul's Church, for celebrating Mass for the Soul of 
Walter Thorpe, 8s. 

" 'In the Parish of St. Alban de Wodestret.' A Tenement, 
called ' le Horsscho,' 4s. Another Tenement, having the Tene- 
ment of the Hospital of the Blessed Mary without ' Busschopes- 



192 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

gate/ on the South, and the King's way, called ( Wodestret,' on 
the West, 2s. Total 6s. 

6i ' In the Parish of the Blessed Mary of Athelmanbery.' A 
Tenement standing in a corner between the narrow way called 
* Phylippeslane,' on the "West ; that called ' Paddelane ' on the 
South, and the Tenement of St. Paul's Church on the North, 2s. 

" 'In the Parish of St. Michael de Bassyngeshawe.' A Tene- 
ment with eight shops, standing in a corner, towards London Wall, 
having the King's way, called ' Bassyngeshawe,' on the West, 2s. 
Two other Tenements, 6s. 6d. Total 8s. 6d. 

" ' In the Parish of St. Olave at the Wall.' A Tenement, 
formerly belonging to the Prior of the Hospital of the Blessed 
Mary without Bishopsgate, having the King's way, called 4 Mug- 
welle-stret,' to the East, 3s. 6d. 

"'In the Parish of St. Stephen in Colmanstret.' Certain vacant 
places, by the legacy of Henry of Gloucester, 2s. 

" ' In the Parishes of St. Faith and St. Gregory.' Certain Shops 
standing in c Paternostrerewe,' under the Palace of the Bishop of 
London, newly erected by the venerable Lord Michael de North- 
borough, formerly Bishop of London, 40s, 

li A Tenement in ' Redecrouchstrete,' which cannot be found, 
4c?, Also in ' Est Smethfeld \ was formerly a Tenement, which is 
now the common Church-yard, Ad. Another in 'Blachynglegh,' 
\2d. Also in Stratford, a piece of meadow land, formerly held to 
farm of the Bridge keepers, being the sixth part of a meadow 
culled ; Ruschope,' 2s. Also at ' Sabryschesworth,' a Tenement, 
3d. Total 3s. lie?. 

" * In the Parish of St. Olave of Sothewerk.' Two Shops of 
the Hospital of St. Thomas of Sothewark, standing in a corner at 
the stairs of London Bridge towards Southwark, between the Tene- 
ments belonging to the said Bridge on the North, the King's way 
of Southwark on the South, and the stairs aforesaid on the East, 
8<s. A corner Tenement, now belonging to the Church of St. 
Michael in ' le Reole, which is called Paternostercherche,' and 
standing at the aforesaid stairs, having the King's way leading 
to * Bermundeseye,' on the South ; the Tenements of the Bridge 
aforesaid on the North, and the aforesaid stairs on the West, 
13s. id: Total 21s. 4c?. 

" 4 In the Parish of St. Margaret in Sothewerk.' One Tene- 
ment of the Hospital of St. Thomas of ' Sothewark,' having the 
King's way of * Sothewerk ' on the East, 4s. 

" ' In the Parish of St. George in Sothewerk.' A certain 
Tenement and Garden called ' Exuuiwe,' which the Prior and 
Convent of the Blessed Mary of Southwark now hold ; standing in 
a corner at the Cross in ' Kentestreete,' between the King's way 
which leads to Bermondsey on the North, the King's way called 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 193 

Kent-street on the "West, and a garden on the South, 135. Ad. A 
Tenement called ' le Mote,' having the Tenement of the Hospital 
of St. Thomas of South wark on the North, a garden on the South, 
and Kent-street on the West, 8s. A Tenement standing at *Le 
Loke/ near the Bridge Tenements, 2s. Total 23s. Ad. f 

" Such, Mr. Barbican, were the gifts to London Bridge 
of Quit-rents, or small sums reserved by various land- 
lords out of their charters and leases, for the support and 
improvement of this noble edifice. Their whole amount 
was SOI. Os. 2d. per annum, a splendid revenue, if, as I 
imagine from several circumstances, this very curious 
survey was made about the middle of the thirteenth 
century. Several of these gifts are authenticated by 
references to the original grants, read and enrolled in the 
Court of Hustings at Guildhall, at various meetings held 
during the reign of King Edward I. : whilst another 
authority, often cited, is called ' the Red Rental/ which 
also makes mention of Godardus, a Chaplain, and his 
brethren of London Bridge. The light these very brief 
but curious notices shed upon Parochial history and 
antiquities, has made me give you a more particular 
account of them, than might be perfectly agreeable to 
you ; though, as I have not quite finished the volume, 
I must request you patiently to hear me a little longer 
speak of the ancient landed property of London Bridge." 

" Oh ! go on, Sir, pray go on ! " said I, in a tone of 
mock resignation, " take your own time, Mr. Barnaby ; 
though, to be sure, there seems but little reason why I 
should say so. I had, indeed, fondly hoped, that when 
you could no longer plague me with a Patent Roll, I 
might rest secure from any thing more provoking ; but 
I must certainly own I was a most short-sighted mortal 
for thinking so, since your genius can never want a 
weapon to be drowsy with : but, I suppose, that you 
rarely meet with a hearer so quiet, so mild, so undoubt- 
ing, and so easily satisfied as I have proved : and there- 
fore, suffer I must." 

o 



194 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" I have truly/' said he, in a short dry voice, " seldom 
met with a companion like you : hut, I am sure, you 
will not think these extracts wearisome, when you 
remember that so little is known about the possessions 
of London Bridge ; and that the fragments which I have 
repeated to you are all of the most undoubted authority, 
as yet unprinted, and almost locked up in a barbarous 
mixture of abbreviated and corrupt French, Saxon, and 
Latin. To return then to the Survey, — which, I assure 
you, 1 have very nearly concluded, — it next records the 
Bridge property at ' Les Stocks,' somewhat of which, 
you may remember, 1 have already spoken : and contains 
one of the most curious and ancient descriptions of that 
once-famous market now extant : — thus commences the 
entry. 

u l Near the Church of the Blessed Mary of Wolcherchehawe, 
is a certaine Cattle-Fold called les Stocks, ordained for Butchers 
and Fishmongers, where the same may sell flesh and fish ; the 
rent of which is uncertain, because any greater or smaller value 
arises from the way in which places in it may be occupied by the 
Butchers upon Flesh-days, and by the Fishmongers on Fish-days. 
Upon this Cattle-stall are three mansions, and one slaughter- 
house, built above it, the principal of which mansions is towards 
Cornhill, being now held by William Vale, Fishmonger, and it 
yields to London Bridge, yearly, 30s. Also, on the West side, 
towards the Conduit, is another mansion, held by John Loukeyn, 
Fishmonger, which pays yearly 20s. Also there is another little 
mansion in the middle of the house upon the Stocks on the North 
side, paying 10s. Also on the South part of the Stocks is a 
slaughter-house, for which rent is not paid. Total 60s. And in 
the stalls aforesaid, called the Stocks, are places measured for the 
Fishmongers' tables, namely four feet and a half and two thumbs 
breadth in length, and called Poulisset, having legs, the which 
places are occupied by the Butchers on Flesh-days at the price of 
Ad. the week. And the same places are occupied by the Fish- 
mongers on Fish-days, at the price of 3d. by the week. Of these 
places there are 19 on the South part next the Church ; 18 on the 
North ; 15, in one row, in the middle of the house on the South ; 
and at the Eastern front of the said house are four places for Fish- 
mongers, three of which are occupied by Butchers on the Flesh- 
days. In the West front of the said house are two places, occupied 



1436.] LONDON BRIDGE. 195 

as well by Butchers as by Fishmongers ; but the certain amount 
of the rents of these cannot be ascertained, because any of the 
aforesaid places may be occupied or not, and thus a larger or a 
smaller sum may appear upon the account-rolls of the gate-keepers 
of the place aforesaid, in different weeks and years. Without the 
Stocks, at the West front, are five places for Fishmongers, where, 
on Fish-days, they sell their fish ; and, on Flesh-days, three of 
them are occupied by the Butchers. There are also 22 places and 
a half under the walls of the house, appointed for Butchers to sell 
flesh on Flesh-days ; whereof 18 places are under the North wall, 
and 4 places and a half are under the wall of the Eastern front, of 
which places the value, when they are occupied, is Ad. per week : 
but now they are not fully engaged, and therefore no certain sum 
can be stated.' 

" ' Also, it is to be known that the gifts, legacies, and obla- 
tions of the Corbell-Chapel, standing on the Bridge, with ' — the 
Pontage from — * the carts carrying bread for sale crossing over it, 
and the passage of vessels under it, are uncertain in amount, because 
they may be greater or less in value, as they appear in the account- 
rolls of the Keepers of the said Bridge for different years.' 

" The Survey concludes with an abstracted list of 
rents paid by London Bridge for lands and tenements 
held in various places, both in, and out of, the City ; but 
as I have already given you several particulars of these, 
and as they do not contain any great additional informa- 
tion, I shall but observe from them that their total 
amount appears to be 201. Qs* Q\d. ; and as we are 
occasionally informed that the lands were let out to farm, 
we may conclude that the Bridge- keepers were amply 
recompensed for the payment of a sum even so great as 
this. The disbursements of London Bridge were, indeed, 
always considerable, for Stow observes in his ' Survey,' 
p. 59, that the account of William Mariner and Chris- 
topher Elliott, Wardens of that edifice, from Michaelmas, 
in the 22nd year of Henry VII.— 1506,— to the Michael- 
mas ensuing, "amounted to 815/. Vis. 2^., all payments 
and allowances included. 

u We must now set sail again on the ocean of English 
History, as it is connected with London Bridge; and 
you are to remember that we are yet in the reign of 
o2 



196 CHRONICLES OP £a. D, 

King Henry VI., though we have mentioned a multitude 
of dates since the commencement of our digression : and 
the next event in its Chronicles, relates to the destruction 
of a considerable portion of it in the year 1437. I have 
already cited to you some of the writings of William of 
Worcester, and in another work of which he was also 
the author, entitled ' Annales Rerum Anglicarum,' he 
gives a slight notice of this event, which you will find in 
the edition printed in Hearne's c Liber Niger/ vol. ii. p. 
458, taken from an autograph manuscript in the Library 
of the College of Arms. The best accounts, however, 
are furnished by Fabyan, on p. 433 of his Chronicle, and 
by Stow in his ' Annals/ p. 376. From these we learn 
that on Monday, January the 14th, the Great Stone 
Gate, and Tower standing upon it, next Southwark, fell 
suddenly down into the River, with two of the fairest 
arches of the same Bridge : ' and yet,' adds the habitu- 
ally pious Stow, 4 no man perished in body, which was a 
great worke of God/ 

" In the year 1440, the Annals of London Bridge 
became again interwoven with the great historical events 
of the kingdom, which impart such dignity to its own 
records, inasmuch as the Bridge- Street, by which is 
meant as well the passage over the Thames as the main 
street beyond it on each side, was one scene of the public 
penance of Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester, for 
Witchcraft. The inflexible honesty of the Duke, who 
was protector of England during the minority of Henry 
VI., and presumptive heir to the crown, had created a 
violent party against him, the heads of which were 
Cardinal Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, and 
William de la Pole, first Duke of Suffolk. With regard 
to his Sovereign, however, not all the spies, which were 
placed about Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, 
by these powerful and inveterate enemies, could find 
even a pretence for the slightest charge ; though that 
which they were unable to discover in him, they found 



1440.] LONDON BRIDGE. 197 

in his Duchess, who was then accused of Witchcraft and 
High Treason : it being asserted that she had frequent 
conferences with one Sir Roger Bolingbroke, a Priest, who 
was supposed to be a necromancer, and Margaret Jour- 
dain, a witch, of Eye, near Westminster; assisted and 
advised by John Hum, a Priest, and Thomas Southwell, 
Priest, and Canon of St. Stephens, Westminster. 
Shakspeare, in his Q Second Part of Henry the Sixth/ 
Act i. Scenes 2 and 4, and Act ii. Scenes 1 and 4, has 
recorded several particulars of this circumstance; and 
makes the Duchess ask some questions concerning the 
King's fate; though she was, in reality, charged with 
having his image made of wax, which, being placed 
before a slow fire, should cause his strength to decay as 
the wax melted. The result of the inquiry was, that 
Jourdain was burned in Smithfield; Southwell died 
before his execution, in the Tower; Bolingbroke was 
hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn; and, on 
November the 9th, the Duchess was sentenced to perform 
public penance at three open places in London. On 
Monday the 13th, therefore, she came by water from 
Westminster, and, landing at the Temple-bridge, walked, 
at noon-day, through Fleet-street, bearing a waxen taper 
of two pounds weight to St. Paul's, where she offered it 
at the High Altar. On the Wednesday following she 
landed at the Old Swan, and passed through Bridge- 
street and Grace- Church- street to Leadenhall, and at 
Cree-Church, near Aldgate, made her second offering : 
and on the ensuing Friday, she was put on shore at 
Queen- Hy the, whence she proceeded to St. Michael's 
Church, Cornhill, and so completed her penance. In 
each of these processions her head was covered only by 
a kerchief, her feet were bare; scrolls, containing a 
narrative of her crime, were affixed to her white dress, 
and she was received and attended by the Mayor, Sheriffs, 
and Companies of London. 

The leading features of these events are of course in 



198 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

all the numerous volumes of English History, but for the 
more particular circumstances I must refer you to Stow's 
6 Annals/ pp. 38] , 382 ; to fol. lxxxiiii. a of the Chro- 
nicle of Edward Flail, an eminent Lawyer who died in 
1547, and whose work is entitled ' The Vnion of the two 
Noble Houses of Lancastre and Yorke,' London. 1550, 
folio ; and, finally, to the Harleian Manuscript No. 565, 
p. 96 a. Of which latter most curious work we now 
take leave, for soon after recording this event, it termi- 
nates imperfectly; though I may observe, that when 
speaking of the fate of Roger Bolingbroke, on p. 96 b, it 
adds, concerning him, that the same day on which he was 
condemned at Guildhall, he c was drawe fro y e Tower of 
London to Tiborn and there hanged, hedyd, and quar- 
tered, and his heed set up on London Bridge/ His 
quarters were disposed of at Hereford, Oxford, York, 
and Cambridge. 

" In 1444, William de la Pole, whom I have just 
mentioned, was one of the King's Ambassadors in France, 
when, with his usual lofty and impetuous spirit, he sud- 
denly proposed a marriage between Henry VI., and 
Margaret, daughter of Ren£, Duke of Anjou, and titular 
King of Jerusalem, Sicily, Arragon, Valence, &c, without 
any instructions from his Sovereign, or even acquainting 
his fellow - commissioners with his design. Notwith- 
standing the Duke of Gloucester opposed this union at 
the Council Board in England, yet the Earl managed his 
proposal so skilfully, that he procured himself to be 
created a Duke, and despatched into France to bring 
over the Queen : and on Thursday, the 22d April, 1445, 
she was consequently married to Henry at Tichfield 
Abbey, Southwick, in the County of Southampton. It 
w r as, probably, in her way from Eltham Palace to West- 
minster, before her Coronation, that she was greeted 
by the famous pageants prepared for her on London 
Bridge, on Friday, the 28th of May; for you will remem- 
ber that she was crowned at Westminster Abbey, on 



1445.] LONDON BRIDGE. 199 

Sunday, the 30th of the month, hy John Stafford, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury. However it might be, she was 
met at several places by many persons of rank, with 
numerous attendants having their sleeves embroidered, 
or decorated in the most costly manner, with badges of 
beaten goldsmith's work ; and especially by the Duke of 
Gloucester, who received her with 500 men habited in 
one livery. At Blackheath, according to custom, the 
Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen, clothed in scarlet, 
attended her with the several City companies, all mounted 
and dressed in blue gowns, having embroidered sleeves 
and red hoods : and in this manner Queen Margaret and 
her followers were conducted through South wark and the 
City, ; then beautified,' — says Stow in his ' Annals,' 
p. 384, where he relates all these particulars, — 4 with 
pageants of diuers histories, and other showes of wel- 
come, maruellous costly and sumptuous/ He gives, 
however, but a very brief statement of them in his printed 
book ; though in his Manuscripts, several of which are 
extant in the Harleian Collection in the British Museum, 
there are the very verses spoken to the Queen on the 
Bridge, composed, as he says, by John Lydgate. The 
Manuscript I allude to, is one to which I have already 
made a reference, being No. 542, a small 4to volume 
written on antique paper, in S tow's own plain, but mi- 
nute handwriting. In this volume, therefore, article 1(5, 
on p. 101 a, is entitled, ; The speches hi the pagiaunts at 
y e cominge of Qwene Margaret wyfe to Henry the syxt 
of that name Kynge of England, the 28th of Maye, 1445, 
y e 23d of his reigne.' The first pageant, which was an 
allegorical representation of Peace and Plenty, was 
erected at the foot of London Bridge, and the motto 
attached to it was ' Ingredimini et replete Terramf — 
Enter ye and replenish the earth, — taken from Genesis ix. 
according to the Vulgate Latin. The Verses addressed 
to Queen Margaret were as follow : — 



200 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

4 Most Christian Princesse, by influence of grace, 

Do lighter of Jherusalem, owr plesaunce 
And joie, welcome as ever Princess was, 

With hert entier, and hoole affiaunce : 

Cawser of welthe, ioye, abund&unce, 
Youre Citee, yowr people, your subgets all, 

With herte, with worde, with dede, your highnesse to avaunce, 
Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! vnto you call/ 

" Upon the Bridge itself appeared a pageant repre- 
senting Noah's Ark, bearing the words ' Jam non ultra 
irascar super terram,' — Henceforth there shall no more 
be a curse upon the earth, — Genesis viii. 21, and the fol- 
lowing verses were delivered before it : — 

* So trustethe your people, with assuraunce 

Throwghe yowr grace, and highe benignitie. — 
'Twixt the Realmes two, England and Fraunce, 
Pees shall approche, rest and vnite : 
Mars set asyde with all his crueltye, 
Which e too longe bathe trowbled the Realmes twayne ; 

Bydynge yowr comforte, in this adversite, 
Most Christian Princesse owr Lady Soverayne. 

Right as whilom, by God's myght and grace, 

Noe this arke dyd forge and ordayne ; 
Wherein he and his might escape and passe 
The flood of vengeaunce cawsed by trespasse : 

Conveyed aboute as god liste him to gye. 
By meane of mercy found a resting place 

Aftar the flud, vpon this Armonie. 

Vnto the Dove that browght the braunche of peas, — 

Resemblinge yowr symplenesse columbyne, — 
Token and signe" that the flood shuld cesse, 

Conducte by graee and power devyne ; 

Sonne of comfort 'gynneth faire to shine 
By yowr presence whereto we synge and seyne 

Welcome of ioye right extendet lyne 
Moste Christian Princesse, owr Lady Sovereyne/ 

" We shall here take our leave of the poet Lydgate, by 
whose descriptive verses we have illustrated three splen- 
did scenes in the history of London Bridge ; and I pray 
you, if it be but in gratitude for this single circumstance, 
reject, as malignant and untrue, the character given of 



1450.] LONDON BRIDGE. 201 

him by Ritson, when he calls him a 6 voluminous, pro- 
saick, and drivelling Monk/ War ton is not only more 
liberal, but more just in his estimate, when he says that 
'no poet had greater versatility of- talents, and that he 
moves with equal ease in every mode of composition/ 
He admits that he was naturally verbose and diffuse, 
tedious and languid : but he asserts also, that he had great 
excellence in flowery description ; that he increased the 
powder of the English language ; and that he was the first 
of our writers whose style is clothed with modern per- 
spicuity. ' His Muse was of universal access,' he conti- 
nues, ; and he was not only the poet of his monastery, 
but of the w T orld/ Alike happy in composing a Masque, 
a Disguising, a May -game, a Pageant, a Mummery, or a 
Carol, for Ritson s list of his poems, amounting to 251, 
embraces all these, and numerous other subjects. 

" The year 1450 w T as made memorable by the daring 
insurrection of Jack Cade and the commons of Kent, 
which arose, partly, out of the popular belief that the 
Duke of Suffolk had caused the loss of a great portion 
of France to the English crown ; and, partly, from the 
pretensions of Richard, Duke of York, to the throne ; 
in consequence of the haughtiness, despotism, and usur- 
pation of Queen Margaret, and William De la Pole, her 
favourite. After some vain attempts to satisfy the 
commons concerning the Duke of Suffolk, King Henry 
banished him from the realm for five years ; when after 
his embarkation his vessel w^as chased by an English ship 
called the Nicholas, belonging to the Constable of the 
Tower, by which it was captured, the Duke seized, and 
his head struck off on the side of a boat in Dover-roads ; 
after which, it was carelessly cast with the body upon 
the sands. This murder, however, did not restore quiet- 
ness to England, for the Duke of York being thus relieved 
from a powerful enemy, immediately proceeded in his 
own designs upon the Crown. By his instigation, there- 
fore, one John Cade assumed the name of Sir John 



202 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

Mortimer, of the house of March, who, in reality, had 
been beheaded in 1425, on a charge of treason. Cade 
was a native of Ireland, and formerly a servant to Sir 
Thomas Dacre, Knight, of Sussex ; but having cruelly 
murdered a pregnant woman, he took sanctuary, and 
forsware the kingdom. With such a character, he began 
his work of reformation in Kent, in May, 1450 ; assum- 
ing also, as some tell us, the title of John Amendall, and 
easily drew so many malcontents together, that, in a few 
days, he was enabled to approach London, and to encamp 
with his rebel forces upon Blackheath. When Henry 
marched against him, he retired into a wood near Seven- 
oaks; where he remained, until the King, supposing his 
followers dispersed, returned to London, and contented 
himself with despatching after them a detachment of his 
army commanded by Sir Humphrey Stafford; which 
division falling into the ambush, was cut in pieces, and 
its leader slain. Elated by this success, Cade again 
marched towards London, whilst Henry and his Court 
retreated to Kenil worth Castle, in Warwickshire ; leav- 
ing a garrison in the Tower, under command of the Lord 
Scales. The rebels, however, now«became increased by 
multitudes, which joined them from all parts ; and on 
Wednesday, the 1st of July, Cade arrived in Southwark, 
where he lodged at the Hart, for, says Alderman Fabyan, 
in his ' Chronicle/ from whom Stow almost verbally 
copies this story, 6 he might not be suffered to enter the 
Citie/ Jack Cade, however, had but too many friends 
within the gates of London. The Commons of Essex 
were already in arms, and were mustered in a field at 
Mile-end; and upon a discussion in the Court of Common- 
Council on the propriety of admitting the rebels over 
the Bridge, the loyal-hearted Alderman, Robert Home, 
so incensed the populace, by speaking warmly against 
the motion, that they were not reduced to order until 
he was committed to Newgate. About five o'clock then, 
on the afternoon of Thursday, July 2nd, London stained 



1450.] LONDON BRIDGE. 203 

her Annals by opening the Bridge-gates to Cade, andjiis 
rabble rout. As he crossed the Draw- bridge, he cut 
with his sword the ropes which supported it; and on 
entering into the City, so beguiled the inhabitants, and 
even Nicholas Wilford, or Wyfold, the Lord Mayor, that 
he procured a free communication between his followers 
and London, though he himself again withdrew to his 
lodging in Southwark. 

" In Shakspeare's vivid scenes of this rebellion, in his 
6 Second Part of King Henry the Sixth/ Act iv., Scene 
4th, a messenger tells King Henry, — 

4 Jack Cade hath gotten London Bridge ; the Citizens 
Fly and forsake their houses :' — 

and in the next scene a Citizen says, c they have won the 
Bridge, killing all that withstand them/ In Scene 6th, 
Cade cries, • Go and set London-Bridge on fire ; ' and 
Edmund Malone, in his note upon this passage, tells us, 
what we certainly cannot find by any other history, that 
' at that time London Bridge was built of wood /' adding, 
from Hall, that 'the houses on London Bridge were, 
in this rebellion, burnt, and many of the inhabitants 
perished/ This note you may see in the Variorum 
edition of ' Shakspeare's Plays,' by Isaac Reed, London, 
1803, 8vo., vol. xiii., p. 341. London Bridge, however, 
was not even yet entirely captured, and two robberies 
which Cade had committed in the City, speedily roused 
the wealthier inhabitants to a sense of his outrage, and 
their own danger. Whereupon, ' what do they/ as 
honest John Bunyan says of the Captains in Mansoul, 
' but like so many Samsons shake themselves V and 
send unto the Lord Scales, and the valiant Matthew 
Gough, at the Tower, for assistance. The latter of these 
commanders was appointed to aid the City, whilst the 
former supported him with a frequent discharge of ord- 
nance ; and on the night of Sunday, July 5th, Cade 
being then in Southwark, the City Captains, the Mayor, 
Aldermen, and Commonalty of London mounted guard 



/uuer 



204 CHRONICLES OP [a. J). 

upon the Bridge. c The rebelles,' says Hall in his 
4 Chronicle/ fol. lxxviii. a, which contains the best 
version of the story, — 'the rebelles, which neuer 
soundly slepte, for feare of sodayne chaunces, hearing 
the Bridge to be kept and manned, ran with greate haste 
to open the passage, where betwene bo the partes was 
a ferce and cruell encounter. Matthew Gough, more 
experte in marciall feates than the other Cheuetaynes 
of the Citie, perceiuing the Kentishmen better to stand 
to their tacklyng than his ymagination expected, aduised 
his company no farther to procede toward South warke, 
till the day appered ; to the entent, that the Citizens 
hearing where the place of the ieopardye rested, might 
occurre their enemies and releue their frendes and com- 
panions. But this counsail came to smal effe#t : for the 
multitude of the rebelles drave the Citizens from the 
stoulpes,' — wooden piles, — c at the Bridge foote, to the 
Drawe-bridge, and began to set fyre in diuers houses, 
Alas! what sorrow it was to beholde that miserable 
chaunce : for some desyringe to eschew the fyre lept on 
hys enemies weapon, and so died : fearfull women, with 
chyldren in their amies, amased and appalled lept into 
the riuer; other, doubtinge how to saue them self 
betwene fyre, water, and swourd, were in their houses 
suffocate and smoldered, yet the Captayns nothyng re- 
garding these chaunces, fought on this Draw-Bridg all 
the nyghte valeauntly, but in conclusion the rebelles gat 
the Draw- Bridge and drowned many, and slew John 
Sutton, Alderman, and Robert Heysande, a hardy Citi- 
zen, with many other, besyde Matthew Gough, a man 
of greate wit, much experience in feates of chiualrie, the 
which in continuall warres had valeauntly serued the 
King, and his father, in the partes beyond the sea. But 
it is often sene, that he which many tymes hath van- 
quyshed his enemies in straunge countreys, and returned 
agayn as a conqueror, hath of his owne nation afterward 
been shamfully murdered and brought to confusion. This 



1451.] LONDON BRIDGE. 205 

hard and sore conflict endured on the Bridge till ix. of 
the clocke in the mornynge in doubtfull chaunce and 
Fortune's balaunce : for some tyme the Londoners were 
bet back to the stulpes at Sainct Magnes Corner ; and 
sodaynly agayne the rebelles were repulsed and dryuen 
back to the stulpes in Southwarke, so that both partes 
beynge faynte, wery, and fatygate, agreed to desist from 
fight, and to leue battayll till the next day, vpon condi- 
tion that neyther Londoners shoulde passe into South- 
warke, nor the Kentish men into London/ William 
Rastall, who produced his curious Chronicle, called 4 The 
Pastimes of People,' in the year 1529, adds to this account, 
that 'the Kentysshemen brent the Brydge ; see p. 265 of 
the excellent edition of that work, by the Rev. T. F. 
Dibdin, D.D., &c, London, 1811, 4to. 

" During the truce that followed this most valiant 
defence of London Bridge, and which nearly effaced the 
deep stain of the Citizens opening their gates to a rebel, 
a general pardon was procured for Cade and his fol- 
lowers, by John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
Lord High Chancellor. Upon which, some accepted of 
the King's grace, and all began, by degrees, to withdraw 
from Southwark with their spoil, whilst Cade himself 
was soon after slain by Alexander Iden, Esquire, of 
Kent, in consequence of a reward being offered for his 
apprehension. His dead body was brought to London, 
and his head erected on the Bridge-gate, where he had 
so recently placed that of one of his greatest victims, Sir 
James Fynes, Lord Say, Treasurer of England. Concern- 
ing these events see also Shakspeare's ' Second Part of 
King Henry the Sixth,' Act iv., Scenes 7th and 10th ; 
Fabyan's ' Chronicle,' pp. 451 — £53 ; and Stow's 'Annals, 1 
pp. 391, 392. 

" I have but little more to subjoin to close the history 
of this rebellion ; but I may add, that in January 1451, 
twenty-six of the Kentish rebels were tried before the 
King and his Justices Itinerant, and executed at Dover, 



206 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

and other places in the County ; and that on Tuesday, 
February 23rd, as Henry returned to London, great 
numbers more met him on Blackheath, dressed in their 
shirts only, and imploring his clemency on their knees, 
were all pardoned. Against his entering the City, nine 
heads of those who had been executed were erected on 
London Bridge, that of their leader standing in the 
centre. ' This,' says Hall, in closing his account of 
Cade's insurrection, ' is the successe of all rebelles, and 
this fortune chaunceth ever to tray tors : for where men 
striue against the streame, their bote neuer cometh to his 
pretensed porte/ 

"In June 1461, previously to his Coronation, King 
Edward IV. crossed London Bridge with some ceremony, 
on the way from his Palace of Sheen to the Tower; 
whence it was anciently customary for the English Sove- 
reigns to ride to Westminster in solemn procession the 
day before they were crowned. We have this infor- 
mation in an article printed by Hearne, and attached to 
his ' Thorn 83 Sprotti Chronica/ Oxford, 1719, 8vo. It 
is entitled ' A remarkable Fragment of an old English 
Chronicle, or History of the Affairs of King Edward the 
Fourth, Transcrib'd from an old MS. ;' and on p. 288, 
we find the following particulars. ' The same xxvi th of 
Juny, the Kiug Edward movid from Sheene towardis 
London, then being Thursday ;' — in reality though it 
was Friday, as this very extract subsequently shows-— 
c and upon the way receyvid him the Maire and his 
brethirn all in scarle, with iiii c commoners well horsid 
and cladde in grene, and so avauncing theime self passid 
the Bridge, and thurgh the Cite they rode streigte unto 
the Toure of London, and restid there all nigt/ The 
day following, King Edward made 32 Companions of the 
Bath. He then proceeded to Westminster, attended by 
the new Knights habited in the white silk dress of the 
Order; and on the morrow, — which was St. Peters 
day, and Sunday, — he was crowned at Westminster by 
Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury. 



1471.] LONDON BRIDGE. 207 

;c The revenues of London Bridge seem greatly to 
have flourished under the reign of this Sovereign, for in 
his 5th year, 1465, the Wardens of the same, Peter 
Alford and Peter Caldecot, paid, on account thereof, the 
immense sum of 731/. 10s. l^d ; as you may see in Mait- 
land's ; History,' vol. i. p. 48, which information he has 
quoted from Stow's ' Survey/ You, doubtless, remember, 
that although Edward IV. was, at this period of our 
history, seated on the English throne, yet that King 
Henry VI. was only deposed by the partisans of Edward 
Plantagenet, Earl of March, and son to the late Duke of 
York, and the Earl of Warwick, in March, 1461. In 
October, 1470, therefore, Henry was again restored to 
his crown, which he retained with a disturbed sway for 
seven months only, and in April, 1471, was again impri- 
soned in the Tower, whence he had been taken to 
remount the throne. There were, however, not even 
then wanting some zealous adherents to the declining 
House of Lancaster, who made several brave, though 
unavailing efforts on the behalf of King Henry, Margaret 
of Anjou, and the young Edward, Prince of Wales, 
Under the sanction of their cause, an impudent attack 
was made upon London in 1471, which forms an im- 
portant feature in the history of this Bridge ; which 
being mentioned by Stow in his ' Survey/ vol. i. p. 61, 
is thence copied by all who have written its Annals. 
The Earl of Warwick had appointed to be Vice- Admiral 
of the Channel, one Thomas Neville, an illegitimate son 
to William, Lord Falconbridge, and thence called ' the 
Bastard of Falconbridge/ When he lost this employ- 
ment, as he was a man alike devoid of morals and of 
money, he saw, says Rapin, with a very singular expres- 
sion, 'no other way to subsist than turning Pirate;' 
for which, however, he required very little transmuta- 
tion. As Edward was, at this time, engaged in pursuit 
of Elizabeth, his Queen, Falconbridge collected some 
ships, and a number of persons of desperate fortunes, 



208 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

and landing on the coast of Kent, intended no less than 
to surprise London, and enrich himself with the plunder 
of the City. He arrived in Southwark in May, giving 
out that he came to free King Henry from his captivity, 
and soon becoming possessed of that place, on Tuesday, 
the 14th, he ordered 3000 of his followers to cross the 
river in boats, and assault Aid-Gate and Bishops-Gate, 
whilst he himself attempted to force the Bridge. This 
he endeavoured to effect by firing it, by which he 
destroyed sixty houses standing upon it ; though the 
Citizens were so well provided with ordnance, that even 
if the passage had been entirely open, says an ancient 
Chronicler, ' they should have had hard entering that 
way/ It is singular, however, that in this account of 
the number of the houses burned on London Bridge, 
Stow should be so greatly at variance with the earlier 
Historians ; since they state it to be sixty, whilst, in 
his ' Survey,' he says only that Falconbridge ; burned 
the Gate and all the houses to the Draw-Bridge, being 
at that time thirteen in number/ It is, perhaps, possible 
that the old Citizen is in the right ; and that the other 
Annalists include some of those buildings which were 
destroyed in the suburbs of Southwark. 

" One of the bravest defenders of London Bridge was 
Ralph Joceline, Alderman and Draper, afterwards made 
a Knight of the Bath, and Lord Mayor, in 1464 and 
1476 ; since he not only manfully resisted Falconbridge 
and his party, when they attacked the Draw-Bridge, but 
upon their retiring, as they were at last forced to do, as 
well from the City as from the Bridge, he sallied forth 
upon them, and following them along the water-side 
beyond RatcliiFe, slew and captured very many of them. 
The Arms of this worthy were Azure, a mullet within a 
circular wreath Argent and Sable, having four hawk's- 
bells joined thereto in quadrature, Or. I have given you 
these particulars from Stow's ' Annals/ p. 424 : from 
Holinshed's i Chronicle, ' vol. u., p. 690 ; and from 



1482.] LONDON BRIDGE. 209 

Fabyans ' Chronicle,' p. 590 ; in which last authority it 
is added that the c Bastarde, with his shipmen, wer 
chased vnto their shippes lying at Blackewall, and there 
in the chase many slaine. And the saied Bastarde, the 
night followyng, stale out his shippes out of the riuer 
and so departed, and escaped for that tyme.' 

" Another record of the destruction of part of London 
Bridge, marks the year 1481, for p. 61 of vol. i. of Stow's 
4 Survey,' informs us, that a house called s the Common 
Stage,' then fell down into the Thames, and by its fall 
five men were drowned. What this building really was, 
you may see in Holinshed's 6 Chronicle/ vol. ii., p. 705, 
where this fact is quoted from the volume entitled ' Scala 
Temporum,' or the Ladder of the Times, a contemporary 
record of remarkable occurrences. 

" We are indebted to that singularly curious work, 
known by the name of < Arnold's Chronicle,' for an ac- 
count of the expenses of London Bridge in several of the 
latter years of the fifteenth century, beginning with 1482, 
and terminating w T ith 1494. The best edition of this 
volume is that edited by Francis Douce, Esq. London, 
1811, quarto, for the series of modern reprints of ancient 
English Chronicles, which appeared about that time. 
The modern title of the book is ' The Customs of London, 
otherwise called Arnold's Chronicle ;' but in its original 
state it w r as devoid of a Title-page, the Table of Contents 
being headed thus : • In this booke is conteyned the names 
of y e Bayliffs, Custos, Mairs, and Sherefs of the Cite of 
London, from the tyme of King Richard the Furst ; and 
also th' Artycles of the Chartur and Libarties of the same 
Cytie ; and of the Chartur and Libartes of England, 
wyth odur dyuers matters good for euery Citezen to 
vndirstond and knowe ; whiche ben shewid in Chaptirs 
after the fourme of this kalendir following/ The first 
edition of ; Arnold's Chronicle* is usually supposed to 
have been printed by John Doesborowe, at Antwerp, 
about the year 1502, in small folio : though it is without 



210 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

either date, or name of place, or Printer. It seems that 
Richard Arnold himself was a Citizen and Haberdasher, 
who resided in the parish of St. Magnus, London Bridge, 
where he nourished in the year 1519. His work is a 
most singular compilation, for it not only contains all 
the subjects which I have already named to you, but 
numerous others which seem to have no sort of con- 
nection with it : such, for instance, as forms for legal in- 
struments, 4 the crafte to make a water to haue spottys out 
of clothe;' — 'the vij segesse of the worlde fro Adam fore- 
warde ; — c the crafte of graffyng and plantyng of tryes ;' 
- — ' to make a pickell too kepe fresh sturgeon in ;' and the 
ancient original of Prior's beautiful ballad of the Nut- 
brown Maid ! But now to shew you its references to 
London Bridge in particular, I must observe that one of 
its articles is entitled ; The lerning for to make a count 
by y e yerly rentis of London Brygge 3 Fo. 270;' nearly 
all of Arnold's examples being given from real and public 
documents ; indeed, he was, as Mr. Douce observes of 
him, ' a very active, and even a meddling character.' 
To that activity and meddling, however, we owe too 
much extremely valuable information, to visit his sins of 
officious curiosity with any very severe censure; or to 
blame him too violently for having compiled his volume 
of such very singular materials. The first extract from 
these Account-rolls is for 1482, and is as follows : 

" k The Yerely stint of the Lyuelod belonging to London Brydge. 
Fyrst, for all maner ressaitis in y e yere vii. C. li. or therabout ; 
namely 700/. * The Chargis goyng out. 

Li. s. d. 
6 For wagis and fees of the Officers lxix. vj. vii j . 
Item, for rewardis of the Officers . xxiij. vj. viij. 
Item, paid out for quyt rentis . . xxx. xiiij. vj. 
Item, for quyt rentis dekayed . . ix. iij. viij. 

Item, for vacacions xxx. — - — 

Item, for costis of the Chapell . xxxiiij. v. iij. 
Item, the expends vpon the Auditors — xl. — 

Somme of this parte C.lxxxxviij. xvj. ix. 198/. 16s. 9d. 

Rest cler .... v.C.i. iij. iij. 501/. 3s. 5d.' 



1482.] LONDON BRIDGE. 211 

" As, there is not in this account any mention of the 
particular salaries actually received by the Bridge Keepers, 
I must refer you for information to a modern copy of some 
ancient documents, entitled ' An Account of the Fees or 
Salaries and Rewards of the Wardens or Keepers of 
London Bridge, from the 20th year of the reign of King 
Edward IV. Ann. Dom. 1482, to the present year, 1786, 
stating the times when their salaries were augmented, 
and also the Rental, or yearly income of the Bridge- 
House Estate at each particular period.' Single folio 
sheet.— ' A. D. 1482. William Galle and Henry Bum- 
sted, Wardens, to the said Wardens because of their office, 
to either of them, £10. Also for their Clothing, or 
Livery, to each, £l. Also allowed to the said Wardens, 
in reward for their attendance and good provision done 
in their office this J ear, to either of them as hath been 
allowed in years past, £ 10. Total to each of them, <£21. 
Total Income, or Rental of the Bridge-House Estate this 
Year, £650. 13*. 1\d! 

" I regret, Mr. Barbican, and I am very sure that you 
do, that our Bridge Annals must, for some few years, be 
carried on principally by these documents ; for I do not, 
in my limited reading, find any more interesting matter 
to record in them. Thus much, however, may be said 
in their defence, that we may certainly learn from them 
the increasing prosperity of the Bridge, and discover, in 
the items of their charges, many a curious fragment of 
the ancient value of money, and the articles contained in 
them. Having thus then, Mr. Geoffrey, deprecated 
your wrath against these matters, which certainly are 
somewhat dull in the recital, I proceed to the accounts 
of London Bridge for the years 1483 — 85, as they are 
given in ' Arnold's Chronicle/ 

4 The Acompte of Willjam Galle and Hery Bumpsted 9 War- 

deyns of London Bredge, from Mychelmasse Anno xxij. Edw. iiij. 

into Mychelmasse after, and ij yeres folowynge. The Charge. 

Frst the areragis of the last acompte/ ij. C. lxvij. li, xiiij. s, ol-J* 

p2 



s. 


a. 


X11J. 


inj. 


XIJ. 


U1 J-J 


XI. 


V. 


IX. 


XI. 


XIJ. 


xk 


XIJ. 


V1 > 


V J- 


v j- 



212 CHRONICLES OF [jl.J> 

- — 267/. 145. Q±d. i Item, all maner resaytis the same yere, vij. 
C. xlvi. li. xvi. s. ob. Somma, M. xiiij. li. x. s. i. d' — 1014#» 
10s. \d. ' Allowans and paymentis the same yere, vij. C. xliiij,. 
li. x. s. ij. d. ob. Rest that is owyng ij. C. lxx. li. xix. 5. x. d, 
ob. — Wherof is dew hy Edward Stone and odar, of ther arrearagis 
in ther tyme^ Iiij. li. vj. s. vj. d. ob. Item, ther is diew hy the 
sayd Wyllyam Galle and Hery Bumpstede, Somma, ij. C. xvij. li, 
xiij. s. iiij. d.' 

' The acompte the next yere suyng, from Mychelmasse in the 
first yere of the reign of King Rycharde the iij. vnto Mychelmasse 
next folowyng, the space of an hole yere. The Charge. 

Li. 
* First the Areragis of the last acompte ij.C.xvij. 

Item, proper rentis v.C.lxviij. 

Item, foreine rente lix. xi. v. ob. 

Item, ferrne of the Stockis .... lix. 

Item, quite rente . xxxi. 

Item, passage of cartis xx. 

Item, increments of rentis .... — 
Item, casuell ressaitis . . .;_ . . vi. 

" •' Somma of all their charge, ix.C.lxiij. li. vii. s. ix. d. ob, 
f u Allouaunee and Dischargis the same yere. Fvrst, in quyt 
rentis, xxx. li. xiiij. s. vj. d. To Saint Mary Spytell, w* annui- 
ties, 1. s. viij. d. Item, decay of quyt rente, ix. li. iij. s, viij. d, 
ob. Item, allo\vaunce for store-houses, xxxv. s. iiij. d. Item, 
in vacacions, xxxiiij. li. xvij. s. iij. d. Item, in decrementis, iij. 
li. vij. s. i. d. Item, allowaunce for money delyuerd to theMayre, 
xl. li. Item, for hnying of stone, xvij. li. xiij. s. iiij. d. Item, 
for buying of tymbre, lath, and bord, li. li. xi. s. v. d. Item, for 
buying of tyle and brik, xiij. li ix. s. iij. d. Item, for buying of 
chalke, lime, and sond, xxiiij. li. xi. s. xi. d. Item, for yren werke, 
xxxij. li. viij. s. iij. d. q. Item, requisites bought, xviij. li. viij. 
s. iiij. d. Item, in expencis, viij. li. xviij. s. xi. d. Item, costis 
of cariage, xij. li, xix. s. vj. d. Item, led and sowder, xiij. li. viij. 
s. Item, for glasyng, xxxvij. s. i. d. Item, costis of the rame, 
xxxiij. li. vj. s. ix. d. Item, masons wagis, xlviij. li. xviij. s, iiij, 
d. ob. Item, Carpenters wages, C. xiiij. li. v. s. Item, laborers 
wages, xxij. li. x. s« ix. d. ob. Item, Costis of the Chapel, xxxiij. 
li. v. s. iij. d. Item, the wagis of the tylers, xij. li. xij. s. 
vi. d. Item, for wagis of the dawbir, xij. li. vi. s. Item, 
for sawiars, xij. li. xv. s. vi. d. Item, for wagis of paviours ? 
xviij. s. viij. d. Item, to the Baker at the Cok, 1. s. Item, for 
fees and wagis of Officers, lxix. li. vi. s. viij. d. Rewardis of 
Officers, xxiij. lifvi. s. viij. d. Item, expencis vpon the auditonrs, 
xiij. s. viij. d. Somme of all the paymentis and allowaunce, vij-. 
C. xx. li. ix. s. iiij. d. qu :' or 720/. 9s. 4±d. ' Reste, CC. xiij. 



1491.J LONDON" BRIDGE. 213 

li. xviij. s. vi. d. qu. Whereof is owynge and dieu by Edward 
Stone, for arereage in his tyme, Somma liiij li. vi. 5. vi. d. Item 
by "\V. Galle and II. Bumpsted, C. Ixxxix. li. xi. s. xi. d. ob. qu. 

" The last document of this nature recorded in 
4 Arnold's Chronicle/ is for the year 1484, and it contains 
the folio whig particulars. — c Ther Acompte, Anno ij. 
Ric. Tercij. The Charge. First, the arreragis of ther 
last acompte, C. Ixxxix. li. xi. s. xi. d. ob. qu. Item, 
all maner ressaitis, vii. C. xliiij. li. x. s. v. d. qu. Somma 
of the Charge, ix. C. xxxiiij. li. ij. s. iiijc d. Discharge. 
Fyrst, allowaunce of paymentis the same y-ere, vi. C* 
xxiij. li. iiij. s. x. d. Soo there remayneth the somme 
CCC. x. li. xvij. s. v. d. ob. Wherof is dieu by Edward 
Stone and other of their arrerage in their tyme, liij. lu 
vi. s. vi. d. ob. And soo remayneth clerly dieu by 
William Gale and Herry Bounsted CC. lvij. li. x. s. xi. dJ 
I must not omit to notice, before quitting these particulars 
of the ancient expenses of London Bridge, that they are 
to be found also printed in Maitland's ' History.,' vol. i^ 
pp. 48, 49. 

" We have frequently, in the course of these frag- 
menta, mentioned various officers set over the affairs of 
London Bridge, and some of the instruments which I 
have quoted, have shown that several of them were 
anciently appointed by the King's Writ or Patent. The 
principal of these Officers are two Bridge- Masters, having 
certain fees and profits, yearly elected, or continued, by 
the Livery at the Common Hall, held upon Midsummer 
day, after the Sheriffs and Chamberlain. Strype, the 
continuator of Stows ' Survey,' whose signature is J. S*, 
states, in voL iL p. 25, that the Bridge- Master is some 
freeman elected by the City and set over the Bridge- 
House, < to look after the reparations of the Bridge ; ' he 
adds, too, that ' he hath a liberal salary allowed him ; 
and that the place hath sometimes been a good relief for 
some honest citizens fallen to decay/ We are also 
farther told by r the same author, on p. 472 of the same 



214 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

work and volume, that at a Court of Common Council, 
held on Friday, April loth, 1491, in the 6th year of 
King Henry VII., it was enacted that at the elecjjon of 
Bridge- Master, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen should 
annually present four men to the Commonalty, from 
whom they were to elect two to he Bridge-Masters, 
This act appears to have heen in force until Thursday, 
April the 15th, 1643, when it was repealed, and the 
whole election has since remained in the Livery. Of 
the names and ancient fees of these Bridge- Masters. I 
have already given you some specimens, and shall cite 
you several others in the future years of our history. 

" We must again he indebted to ' Arnold's Chronicle * 
for a fragment illustrative of the property, persons, and 
houses, in the Parish of St. Magnus, and on London 
Bridge, in the year 1494 ; for on p. 224 of that mass of 
singular information, we find an article entitled c The 
Valew and stynt of the Benefyce of St. Magnus at London 
Brydge yerly to the Person. The Rekenyng of the 
same the fyrst day of Decembre, Anno Domini M.CCCC. 
Ixxxxiiij.' I am not going to give you the long head- 
roll of names, rents, and rates which follow ; hut I shall 
observe that, at this period, the rents amounted to 
434Z. 12s. 8d., and the offerings paid to the Parson came 
to 75/. 8s. 8i;d. The rent of c the Shoppis in Brig-strett,' 
amounted to 70/. 3s. 4d, and their offerings to 12/. 3s. 3d. ; 
hut the only building that is mentioned as immediately 
connected with our present subject is c the Ymage of our 
Lady on the Brydge, valet iiij marke,' or 21. 13s. 4d. 
You may, perhaps, remember that this very article from 
i Arnold's Chronicle,' was afterwards printed in a small 
volume commonly supposed to have been compiled by 
the learned Dr. Brian Walton, Bishop of Chester, and 
Editor of the famous London Polyglot Bible, in 1657. 
This tract is entitled ' A Treatise concerning the pay- 
ment of Tythes and Oblations in London. By B. W., 
D. D.;' 1641. 4to., and the original manuscript, written 



1494.] LONDON BRIDGE. 215 

in an ancient hand on folio paper, is, to our delight, yet 
remaining in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth 
Palace, No. 273. Whilst I am speaking of this collec- 
tion, l may observe that it contains another manuscript 
in which are some few curious particulars concerning the 
buildings on London Bridge. This is marked No. 272 ; 
was written in 1(538, on folio paper; and is entitled 4 A 
Catalogue of inhabitants of the several Parishes in Lon- 
don, with the rent of houses and tythes paid out of them; 
in order to a new settlement of Tythes/ The contents 
of this manuscript set forth not only the names of the 
dwellers in the various houses, but also c a moderate 
valuacion ' of them, c and other things tithable ;' wherein, 
however, it is added, of St. Magnus, that ' the Parish 
would not ioyne/ This district forms article 48 of the 
volume, and we find mentioned in it the following build- 
ings ' on London Bridge/ ' One great house, shop, 
warehouse, cellars, &c. clear value 50/., Tithes, 11. 16s.; 
it hath bin letten for above 8// — 6 One faire house and 
shop, part of the Little Nonesuch/ value 40/., Tythes, 
1/. 7s. 6d. ; and the same for the other part. ' One 
Ale-cellar, Tythes, 3s.' On the South side of Great 
Thames Street, the following buildings are mentioned 
connected with the Bridge : ' One house, wharf, and 
Engines to carry water, valued at 500/. cleere profitt/ — 
c One great house divided into divers tenements, Bridge- 
House Rents, over them, value 20/.' 

" In giving you these particulars, I must own that I 
have considerably anticipated the period to which they 
belong, but as it is my wish to say something of the 
history of St. Magnus' Parish, it could scarcely be more 
properly introduced than when we were noticing the 
ancient amount of its tythes, &c. The earliest mention 
of the Church of St. Magnus is said by Pennant to be in 
1433, though Stow speaks of several monuments con- 
siderably older; and if you will turn to Newcourt's 
' Repertorium Ecclesiasticum/ vol. i. p. 396, you will 



216 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

find that Hugh Pourt, one of the Sheriffs of London*, in 
1302, and Margaret his wife, founded a perpetual Chantry 
in this edifice : and further, that the list of Rectors 
commences with Robert de Sancto Albano, who resigned 
his office on the 31st of August, 1323. There was also 
a Guild, or Fraternity, called - Le Salve Regina/ held in 
this Church, as Stow shows you in his 4 Survey/ vol. i., 
p. 495, which was nourishing in the l7th year of Edward 
III., — 1343. — The intent of that convention wdll best be 
shewn by an extract from Stow's translation of the 
certificate of this species of religious Benefit Society, 
which is as follows: — 'Be it remembered that Rauf 
Capeleyn, du Bailiff; William Double, Fishmonger; 
Roger Lowlier, Chancellor; Henry Bose worth, Vintener; 
Stephen Lucas, Stock-Fishmonger; and other of the 
better sort of the Parish of St. Magnus, near the Bridge 
of London, of their great devotion, and to the honour of 
God and his glorious Mother, our Lady Mary the Virgin^ 
began, and caused to be made a Chantry, to sing an 
Anthem of our Lady called ' Salve Regina,' every even- 
ing : and thereupon ordained five burning wax lights at 
the time of the said anthem, in the honour and reverence 
of the five principal joys of our Lady aforesaid, and for 
exciting the people to devotion at such an hour, the more 
to merit to their souls. And thereupon many other 
good people of the same Parish, seeing the great honesty 
of the said service and devotion, proferred to be aiders 
and partenersto support the said lights and the said anthem 
to be continually sung ; paying to every person every 
week an halfpenny. And so that hereafter, with the 
gift that the people shall give to the sustentation of the 
said light and anthem, there shall be to find a Chaplain 
singing in the said Church for all the benefactors of the 
said light and anthem.' 

" I do not find that the Patron Saint of this edifice is 
at all mentioned by Alban Butler ; nor are all writers 
perfectly agreed as to who he actually was ; seeing that 



1494.] LONDON BRIDGE. 2l7 

there were two Saints named Magnus, whose festival day 
was kept on the 19th of August. One of these was 
Bishop of Anagnia in Italy, and was martyred in the 
persecution raised by the Emperors Decius and Valerian, 
about the middle of the third century after the Birth of 
Christ. The other St. Magnus was the person to 
whom Newcourt supposes this Church was dedicated, 
though he erroneously calls his feast August the 18th. 
He is named, by way of distinction, St. Magnus the 
Martyr of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, because he suffered 
at that city, under Alexander the Governor, in the time 
of the Emperor Aurelian, a. d. 276. Having vainly 
endeavoured to make him do sacrifice, he caused him to 
be twice exposed to the flames of a furnace, and thrice to 
be thrown to , wild beasts ; but none of these things 
moving him, he was at length stoned, and when all 
imagined that he was dead, he suddenly prayed that his 
soul might have a peaceful exit, and presently gave up 
the ghost. An extended history of these famous men, 
you will find in that wonderful work the ' Acta Sanc- 
torum/ which I have before quoted, in the third volume, 
for August, pp. 701-719 : though there is a much longer 
account of the Swedish St. Magnus, the Abbot, whose 
festival is September the 6th, and whom I pray you 
never to mistake for the Martyr of London Bridge. 
The Rectory of St. Magnus, says the tract which I last 
quoted from the Lambeth Library, is rated higher in his 
Majesty's books than any living in, or about, London, 
being valued at 69/. and 40s. more in pensions, but is 
without any glebe attached to it. Before I close these 
spicilegia of the rents, &c. of St. Magnus and London 
Bridge, I must observe to you, that when Arnold is 
speaking in his ' Chronicle ' of the fifteenths raised by 
every Ward in London, he states, at p. 48, that the 
quarter of the Bridge itself, at a fifteenth, amounted to 
14/. 3$. 4d. ; and that the Bridge-street quarter produced 
11/. 5s. Sd. So much then for a few particulars of the 



218 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

history of this Church and Parish, the North-East 
boundary of London Bridge, to the Chronicles of which 
we shall now return, taking them up again with the 
year 1497. 

" It was in this year, you may remember, that the 
forces of Henry VII., which were proceeding to Scotland, 
were suddenly recalled to subdue a commotion raised in 
Cornwall, in consequence of a subsidy voted by Parlia- 
ment, in 1496. The rebels were headed by one Thomas 
Flamoke, a Layer and a gentleman ; and a Blacksmith, 
or Farrier, of Bodmin, called Michael Joseph; both of 
them, says Stow, in his c Annals,' p. 479, ' men of stout 
stomackes.' Under these leaders, then, they penetrated 
even to Blackheath, but on their march were so valiantly 
opposed in Kent, that numbers of the insurgents iled 
from their company. On Blackheath the Royal troops 
were already encamped under several valiant com- 
manders, by whom the rebels' retreat was immediately 
cut off; and in a short engagement which ensued on 
June the 22d, Flamoke and Joseph were both taken 
prisoners; On the 28th following they were executed 
at Tyburn; and their quarters were to have been 
erected in various places in Cornwall ; but Hall states, 
in his c Chronicle,' fol. 43 b, that, as it was supposed it 
would incite the Cornishmen to new insurrections, they 
were set up in London : and their heads greeted Henry 
VII. on London Bridge, as he triumphantly returned 
over it from Blackheath. 

" During this same year, London Bridge appears to 
have been repaired to some extent, although it is 
probable that the only notice of it may exist in the 
manuscript records of the Bridge Comptroller. In the 
6 Gentleman's Magazine,' however, for October 1758, 
vol. xxviii., p. 469, is a Letter from Joseph Ames, 
Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, and Author of 
the ' Typographical Antiquities,' containing three inscrip- 
tions engraven on stone, found in pulling down a part of 




1500.] LONDON BRIDGE. 210 

the edifice. These, it is supposed, were laid in the 
building at the different times of its repair, specified by 
their several dates ; but though so very ancient, yet the 
descriptive account states that, ' they are all as fresh as 
if new cut ; they being then in the possession of Mr. 
Hudson, the Bridge-Master. The oldest inscription is 
sculptured upon a stone 9f inches in height, by 16| 

inches long, the letters 
being raised and blacked, 
and the words, within a 
border, being ' Anno Do- 
mini,' with the date of 
1497, in small black-let- 
ters, and ancient Arabic 
figures. I shall introduce 
the other stones to your notice in the years to which 
they refer ; and only now remark, that they are engraven 
in PI. 1, Nos. I., II., III., p. 470, of the work to which 
I have already referred you, whence they were copied 
into Gough's c Sepulchral Monuments/ vol. ii., pt. i., 
p. cclxvi., pi. xxv. 

" Hitherto, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, I have quoted you 
an abundance of authorities which make mention of 
the history, or appearance, of London Bridge, but not- 
withstanding my researches I find only a very few 
ancient representations of it. If, however, you would 
see an interesting and sweetly-touched portraiture of it 
about the year 1500, look into that stout roan- coated 
folio, marked 16 F. ii. xv. in the Royal Library of 
Manuscripts in the British Museum, and you will be 
enraptured. The volume professes to treat of c Grace 
entiere sur le gouvemement du Prince/ and it is written 
in prose and verse, in the common large black script of 
the fifteenth century, on vellum, with most noble illumi- 
nations, executed in the best style of the best period of 
the art in England, and by one of the most gifted of the 
Brethren of St. Luke. The Author of the poems was 



220 CHRONICLES OF £a. I>< 

Charles, Duke of Orleans, father of Louis XII. ; and 
this particular copy of his works seems to have been 
illuminated for Henry the Eighth, when Prince of 
Wales ; for it not only contains numerous initial letters 
and borders richly coloured and embossed with gold • 
but in the frontispiece, on the first page, are his fathers 
well-known badges of the red and white roses; the 
former of which are supported by the white hound, and 
red dragon: with glorified white roses in the margin. 
The poems are divided into several books of various 
amatory subjects, as ' Venus et Cupidon,' — c Epitres 
d'Abelard et Eloise,' — ' Les Demandes d' Amours;' and 
the second division of the volume is adorned w T ith a 
large and beautiful illumination representing the Duke 
of Orleans in the Tower, sending despatches to his 
friends abroad. The Tower, wharf, and river before 
them, occupy the whole fore-ground of the painting; and 
In the back appears the East side of London Bridge, 
with numerous houses standing upon it, the Chapel of 
St. Thomas reaching down to the sterlings, and the 
violent fall of the river through the different arches 




whilst, beyond it, rise the spires of several Churches, 
especially the very high one of old St. Paul's, and the 
other buildings of London erected along the banks of the 



1501.] LONDON BRIDGE. 221 

Thames. It is, indeed, hardly possible to give you an 
adequate idea of the spirit and beauty of the foregoing 
view of London Bridge in the Year 1500, the colouring 
is so vivid and harmonious : a sky of ultra- marine blue is 
spread over the whole of the back-ground, against which 
the distant buildings appear in white, the nearer ones 
being touched with different shades of brown. You will, 
however, find a fair copy of this noble painting, engraved 
by Basire, in Gough's ; History of Pleshy/ p. 193, which 
I have already cited ; and the same plate has also been 
published as an additional illustration to the Rev. T. D. 
Fosbrooke's { Encyclopaedia of Antiquities,' London, 
1825, vol. ii., p. 923. 

" You must, doubtless, recollect that in November 
1501, Arthur, Prince of Wales, and son t'o King Henry 
VII., was married to Katherine, daughter of Ferdinand 
V., King of Spain, and that on Friday, the 12th of that 
month, the young Princess was conveyed from Lambeth, 
through London, to witness the pageants which had been 
prepared by the Citizens to do honour to her nuptials. 
The whole City was full of triumph and splendour ; and 
Stow, in his ' Annals,' p. 482, says that on London Bridge 
there was ordained a costly pageant of St. Katherine and 
St. Ursula, with many virgins. c I passe ouer,' says 
Hall, in a very brilliant paragraph, fol. liii. a, and using 
that most powerful oratorical figure called Paralepsis, or 
Omission, which declares that of which it denies saying 
any thing : — ' I passe ouer,' says the old Chronicler, — 
'the wyse deuises, the prudent speches, the costly 
woorkes, the conninge portratures practised and set 
foorth in vij goodly beautifull pageauntes erected and 
set vp in diuers places of the Cite. I leaue also the 
goodly ballades, the swete armony, the musicall instru- 
menteSj which sounded with heavenly noyes on every 
side of the strete. I omit farther the costly apparel 
both of goldsmythes woorke and embraudery, the riche 
je welles, the massy cheynes, the styrrynge horsses, the 



222 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

beautifull bardes and the glytteryng trappers bothe with 
belles and spangles of golde. I pretermyt also the ryche 
apparell of the Pryncesse, the straunge fasshion of the 
Spanishe nacion, the beauty of the Englishe ladyes, the 
goodly demeanoure of the young damoselles, the amour- 
ous countenaunce of the lusty bachelers. I passe ouer 
also the fyne engrayned clothes, the costly furres of the 
Citizens standing on skaffoldes, ray led fromGracechurche 
to Paules. What should I speake of the oderiferous 
skarlettes, the fyne veluet, the plesaunt furres, the 
massye chaynes, which the Mayre of London with the 
Senate, sitting on horseback, at the Litle Condyte in 
Chepe, ware on their bodyes, and about their neckes. 
I will not molest you with rehersyng the ryche arras, 
the costly tapestry, the fyne clothes bothe of golde and 
syluer, the curious veluettes, the beautiful sattens, nor 
the pleasaunt sylkes, which did hang in every strete 
wher she passed, the wyne that ranne continually out of 
the condytes, the graueling and ray ling of the stretes 
nedeth not to be remembered.' I have given you the 
whole of this fine, but certainly extended, extract, that 
you may derive from it some general idea of the pageantry 
of this festival, concerning which our Bridge historians 
are, in general, altogether silent. 

" The night of Thursday, November 21st, 1504, was 
rendered memorable by a dreadful Fire, which com- 
menced at the sign of the Pannier, at the Northern end 
of London Bridge, where six tenements were consumed, 
4 that could not be quenched/ Fabyan and Hollinshed tell 
us this in their ' Chronicles,' p. 584 and vol. ii., p. 791 : 
adding, that on the 7th of the following month certain 
other houses were also destroyed, near St. Botolph's 
Church, in Thames Street. It was, probably, when the 
repairs occasioned by these conflagrations were com- 
pleted, that another of those sculptured stones which I 
lately mentioned, was placed at the Bridge. It mea- 
sures 10 inches in height, by 13f inches broad ; and, 



|509."1 LONDON BRIDGE. 223 

carved in the same characters and figures, as the former, 
are the words 'Anno Domini 1509/ At the end of the 
date is an arbitrary mark of a cross charged with a small 
saltire, which is supposed to have been the old device 
for Southwark, or the estate of London Bridge :^ and you 
know that the Amis used for those places are still Azure, 
an Annulet, ensigned with a Cross pate'e Or, interlaced 
with a saltire conjoined in base, of the second.^ I have 
yet to mention a third sculptured stone, which, it is 
supposed, records the public benefits conferred by Sir 
Roger Achiley, Draper, upon the City during his 
Mayoralty in 1511. This tablet is ll£ inches wide, by 
9i high ; and the inscription is ' Anno' — the City sword 
— < Domini. R. 1514 A ;' these letters being the initials 
of that very eminent Citizen, who was then senior Alder- 
man, representing the Ward of Bridge Within. Such 
were the other two Ancient stones found at London 
Bridge in 1758. 





" I have already mentioned to you the situation, and 
general intent, of the Bridge-House and Yard, and I 
have now to remark, that they seem, at a very early 
period, to have been used for the erection of Granaries 
for the City to preserve Corn, &c, in, during the times 
of famine and scarcity of provisions. This information 
we derive from Stow's c Survey,' vol. ii. p. 24 ; where he 
adds, that there were also certain public ovens built in 
the same places, for the baking of such bread- corn as 
was there laid up, for the relief of the poor Citizens at 
such seasons. These ovens were ten in number, six of 



224 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

them being very large, and the remainder only half the 
size ; and for their erection, Stow observes, that John 
Throstone, or Thurston, Citizen and Goldsmith, one of 
the Sheriffs in 1516, gave, by his testament, the sum of 
200/. 

" We have now arrived at the days of King Henry 
the Eighth, about the period when Pope Alexander the 
Sixth sent over the celebrated Polydore Vergil to receive 
the tribute called Peter-pence, of which he was the last 
Collector in England. As he was already celebrated for 
his Poems and his books, ' On the Invention of Things,' 
and ' On Prodigies,' he met with great encouragement in 
this country ; where he not only received several eccle- 
siastical preferments, being made Archdeacon of Wells, 
and Prebendary of St. Paul's, but in 1521 he was 
employed by the King to write a History of England, 
which he performed in most elegant Latin, and which 
was first printed at Basil, bearing the date of 1533 for 
1534. He left England in 1550, and died at his birth- 
place, Urbino, in Italy, in 1555. The best edition of 
this work, entitled, c Polydori Vergilii UrbinatisHistorise 
Anglise,' which contains a descriptive eulogy on London 
Bridge, is that of Ley den, 1651, 8vo; — though I quote 
from the Basil folio of 1570, — and if you turn to p. 4 of 
that volume, you will find the passage commencing * Is 
fluvius amcenlssimus,' &c, of which I shall attempt to 
give you a translation. c This most delightful river' — 
the Thames — 4 rises a little above the road to Winch- 
comb, whence flowing several ways, it is first increased 
at Oxford ; and the beautiful wonder, having washed the 
City of London, pours itself into the Gallic Ocean, who 
welcomes it into the impetuous waves of his seas ; from 
which, twice in the space of twenty-four hours, it flows 
and returns more than the distance of sixty miles, and is 
of the greatest national advantage; for, by it, merchandise 
may easily be returned to the City. In this River there 
is a stone Bridge, certainly a most wonderful work ! for 



1521.] LONDON BRIDGE. 225 

it is erected upon twenty square piers of stone, 60 feet in 
height, 30 feet in breadth, and distant from each other 
about 20 feet, united by arches. Upon both sides of the 
Bridge there are houses erected, so that it might appear 
not to be a Bridge, but one substantial and uninterrupted 
street/ The same author, at p. 25 of the same c History,' 
says farther of London Bridge : — ' This part of the City, 
which looks Southward, is washed by the River Thames, 
in which stands the Bridge, as we have said before, lead- 
ing towards Kent, erected upon 19 arches, and having a 
series of extensive magnificent houses standing upon both 
sides of it/ — But I fear you are drowsy, Mr. Barbican ; 
take another draught of the sack, good Master Geoffrey, 
and then we'll to it again." 

"Eh! — What!" — said I, starting up, and shaking 
myself, " drowsy, did you say ? Oh no ! Heaven defend 
that I should be drowsy, when a gentleman of your 
inveterate learning and lungs condescends to give me a 
lecture ! I was, indeed, for a moment thinking of the 
Chinese devotee who vowed never to sleep at all, and so 
cut off his eyelids : but I never slept, my ancient ; I 
never winked over your homily, though I would fain 
have you come to your nineteenthly, lastly, and to con- 
clude. However, whilst we live we must drink, and so 
here's to your reformation, friend Postern. Now, by St. 
Thomas of the Bridge !" ejaculated I, as I took up the 
tankard, "you're either a wizard, Master Barnaby, or 
else this tankard hath no bottom; and, truly, it's the 
first time I ever saw wine keep hot on a mahogany 
table." 

" Fancy, Mr. Geoffrey, mere fancy," replied the 
placid old man with a shrewd smile ; " but even as it is, 
it will serve as a good prelude to some of the more 
amusing scenes with which the fragments of Bridge 
history furnish us in the sixteenth century. Indeed, all 
I have been able to lay before you are but fragments : 



226 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

cyphers which derive their value by connexion, and look 
considerable only by their number. 

" It was then in the year 1526, when Cardinal Wolsey 
was meditating a marriage between King Henry VIII. and 
the Duchess of Alencon, that his adversaries had anxi- 
ously contrived for him to be despatched on an embassy 
to France, in order to remove him from about the throne, 
or, at the least, to weaken his power. On July the 26th, 
the Cardinal left England, and in that extraordinary and 
entertaining piece of biography, called c Cavendish's Life 
of Cardinal Wolsey,' we have a particular account of the 
grand procession in which he rode through the City to 
cross London Bridge, on his road to Dover. The best 
edition of this work is, past question, that by Samuel 
Weller Singer, Esq., 1825, 8vo, 2 vols. ; in the first of 
which, at p. 86, you may see an engraving of the 
Cardinal's progress, from a Manuscript in the possession 
of Francis Douce, Esq., and read the passage I have 
alluded to in the following words : — c Then marched he 
forward out of his own house at Westminster, passing all 
through London, over London Bridge, having before him 
of gentlemen a great number, three in a rank, in black 
velvet livery coats, and the most part of them with great 
chains of gold about their necks. And all his yeomen, 
with noblemen's and gentlemen's servants following him 
in French tawny livery coats ; having embroidered upon 
the backs and breasts of the said coats these letters: 
T. and C, under the Cardinal's hat. His sumpter mules, 
which were twenty in number and more, with his carts 
and other carriages of his train, were passed on before, 
conducted and guarded with a great number of bows and 
spears. He rode like a Cardinal, very sumptuously, on 
a mule trapped with crimson velvet upon velvet, and his 
stirrups of copper, and gilt ; and his spare mule following 
him with like apparel. And before him he had his two 
great crosses of silver, two great pillars of silver, the Great 



1536.] LONDON BRIDGE. 22 f" 

Seal of England, the Cardinal's Hat, and a gentleman 
that carried his valaunce, otherwise called a cloak-bag ; 
which was made altogether of tine scarlet cloth, em- 
broidered over and over with cloth of gold very richly, 
having in it a cloak of fine scarlet. Thus passed he 
through London, and all the way of his journey, having 
his harbingers passing before to provide lodging for his 
train/ 

" As the Account Rolls of the Bridge estates, in 1533, 
furnish us with a very good conception of its prosperity 
and revenues at that period, I shall request you to listen 
to only a very short abstract of the charges as they 
appear upon a printed document which I have already 
quoted. ' 1533, Thomas Crull and Robert Draper, 
Wardens of London Bridge, Salary to each of them, 
16/. 8s. 4d.-— 32/. 16s. 8d. Winter's Livery to each, 
1/. — 21. Reward to each, 10/. — 20/. For horse-keeping 
to each, 2L — 41 Total to each of them, 29/. 8s. 4& 
Sum of the whole, 581. 16s. 8d. Rental this year, 
840/. 9s. tyd.' 

u I have next to speak of an event occurring on London 
Bridge, in 1536, which is probably better known, and 
more often related, than most other portions of its history; 
I allude, as you will guess, to the anecdote of Edward 
Osborne leaping into the Thames from the window of 
one of the Bridge Houses, to rescue his master's daughter. 
The particulars of this circumstance are given by Stow 
in his c Survey,' vol. ii. p. 226, in the list of Lords Mayors 
of London ; when having arrived at the year 1559, and 
the Mayoralty of Sir William Hewet, a Cloth-worker, 
he farther speaks of him as follows : — c This Mayor was 
a Merchant, possessed of a great estate, of 6000/. per 
Annum ; and was said to have had three sons and one 
daughter,' — Anne, — ' to which daughter this mischance 
happened, the father then living upon London Bridge. 
The maid playing with her out of a window over the 
River Thames, by chance dropped her in, almost beyond 
q2 



228 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

expectation of her being saved. A young gentleman, 
named Osborne, then Apprentice to Sir William, the 
father, which Osborne was one of the ancestors of the 
Duke of Leeds, in a direct line, at this calamitous acci- 
dent leaped in, and saved the child. In memory of 
which deliverance, and in gratitude, her father afterwards 
bestowed her on the said Mr. Osborne, with a very great 
dowry, whereof the late estate of Sir Thomas Fanshaw, 
in the Parish of Barking, in Essex, was a part, as the 
late Duke of Leeds told the Rev. Mr. John Hewyt, from 
whom I have this relation ; and together with that estate 
in Essex, several other lands in the Parishes of Hartehill, 
and Wales, in Yorkshire ; now in the possession of the 
said most noble family. All this from the old Duke's, 
mouth to the said Mr. Hewyt. Also that several persons 
of quality courted the said young lady, and particularly 
the Earl of Shrewsbury ; but Sir William was pleased to 
say ' Osborne saved her, and Osborne should enjoy her/ 
The late Duke of Leeds, and the present family, preserve 
the picture of the said Sir William, in his habit as Lord 
Mayor, at Kiveton House in Yorkshire, to this day, 
valuing it at 8001.' Pennant, in his collection of anec- 
dotes, called ' Some Account of London,' which I have 
already cited, p. 322, says, after relating this story, ' I 
have seen the picture of Osborne's master at Kiveton, the 
seat of the Duke of Leeds, a half-length on board ; his 
dress is a black gown furred, and red vest and sleeves, a 
gold chain and a bonnet.' There is also an engraved por- 
trait of Osborne himself, said to be unique, in a series of 
wood-cuts in the possession of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart. 
They consist of the portraits of forty-three Lord Mayors 
in the time of Queen Elizabeth, reduced copies of six of 
which, exclusive, however, of Osborne, one of the most 
interesting, were, between the years 1794 and 1797, pub- 
lished by Richardson, the printseller, of Castle-street, 
and the Strand. 

" This gallant action of Osborne has, likewise, been 



1536.] LONDON BRIDGE. 229 

the subject of a graphical record : for there is a small, 
but rather uncommon, engraving of him leaping from 
the window, executed for some ephemeral publication, 
from a drawing by Samuel Wale. As this artist died in 
1786, it is of course but little authority as being a repre- 
sentation of the fact, but it is, nevertheless, interesting, 
as giving a portraiture of the dwellings on London Bridge 
in his time ; and with this print I may also mention one 
designed by the same hand, and engraved by Charles 
Grignion, of the first Duke of Leeds, pointing to a por- 
trait of Hewet's daughter, and relating to King Charles 
II. the foregoing anecdote of his ancestor. You will find 
it in William Guthrie's i complete History of the Peerage 
of England/ having ' vignettes at the conclusion of the 
history of each family,' Lond. 1742, 4to., vol. i. p. 246." 
" Before you pass onto any other event, Mr. Postern/* 
said I, as the old gentleman came to a period, u let me 
say a word or two of the fortunate hero of this anecdote. 
Sir Edward Osborne was the son of Richard Osborne, of 
Ashford, in Kent, a person certainly in a most respectable 
situation in life, if not immediately of gentilitial dignity. 
He became Sheriff of London in 1575, and Lord Mayor 
in 1583-84, the 25th of Queen Elizabeth, when " he 
received the honour of Knighthood at Westminster. 
c He dwelled/ — says a manuscript in the Heralds' Col- 
lege, to which I have already referred, Pb. No. 22, fol. 
18 a, — 'in Philpot Lane, in Sir William He wet's house, 
whose da: and heire he married, and was buried' — in 
1591, — c at St. Dennis in fanchurch Streete. c His Armo- 
rial Ensigns, according to the same authority, were 
Quarterly, 1st and 4th. Quarterly, Ermine and Azure, a 
Cross Or ; for Osborne : 2d. Argent, 2 bars Gules on a 
Canton of the second, a Cross of the first ; 3d. Argent, a 
Chevron Vert, between three annulets Gules. To these 
we may add the coat of Hewet on an Escutcheon of 
Pretence, it being Parted per pale, Argent and Sable, a 
chevron engrailed between three rams' heads erased, 



230 CHRONICLES OF £a. I>, 

horned Or; all counterchanged, within a bordure engrailed 
Gules, bezantee. On the 15th of August, 1675, Sir Tho- 
mas Osborne, the great-grandson of Sir Edward, was 
raised to the Peerage by the titles of Viscount Latimer, 
and Baron Rive ton, in the County of York, by Patent 
from King Charles II. ; on the 27th of June in the year 
following, he was created Earl of Danby ; on April 20, 
1680, he was advanced to the dignity of Marquess of 
Caermarthen ; and he became First Duke of Leeds on 
May 4, 1694. So much then, Mr. Postern, for an histo- 
rical and genealogical illustration of the anecdote of the 
gallant apprentice of London Bridge." 

" I regret, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican," recommenced my 
visitor, after thanking me for having added the above 
information to his narrative, " I regret that I have so 
little to lay before you, touching the state and revenues 
of the Chapel of St. Thomas on London Bridge, at the 
time of the Dissolution of Monasteries, &c. by the famous 
act of the 31st year of King Henry VIII.,— 1539,— 
Chap. 13. It does not appear that its revenues yielded 
any considerable profit to the King's Augmentation 
Office ; but yet it certainly must have existed even in the 
form of a religious establishment so late as that King's 
reign, because we find it mentioned in several lists of 
those institutions in London made about that period; 
though it does not appear in the ' Valor Ecclesiasticus,' 
also made by order of the same Monarch. This cele- 
brated and most authentic historical record, was an 
ecclesiastical survey of England, made in pursuance of 
an Act of Parliament passed in the 26th of Henry VIII., 
t-1 534,— chap, iii., § x., for the payment of First Fruits, 
Pensions, &c. to the King. The survey was, of course, 
executed by Commissioners, and many of the original 
returns to their inquiries are yet preserved in the First- 
Fruits and Tenths' Office, in the Court of Exchequer : 
w T hilst the 4 Valor Ecclesiasticus* itself has been printed 
under the direction of the Commissioners of Records, in 



1545.] LONDON BRIDGE. 231 

5 vols, fol., Lond . 181 0—1821. The survey for the City 
of London is contained in the first volume, in which we find 
London Bridge frequently mentioned as receiving certain 
reserved rents from the property of other establishments. 
Thus, on p. 388, col. ii., in the rents paid to divers persons by 
St. Bartholomew's Hospital in West Smithfield, 9s. are 
set down as being paid 6 to the Master or Keeper of the 
Bridge of London, out of the corner tenement at the 
Litill Bayly without Ludgate/ On p. 390, col. i, El- 
syng Spital is stated to pay 33s. 4d. to the Master of 
London Bridge, out of the tenements in the Parish of St. 
Benedict, Grace-Church : and on p. 431, col. ii., it is 
recorded that the House of the Carthusians was to pay 
9s. 4d. to the House of London Bridge : though the 
Chapel of St.- Thomas is never mentioned in the valu- 
ation of St. Magnus* Rectory, which amounted to 
7N.7s.3lrf. 

" I have hardly less regret in stating our absolute 
want of information relating to the Bridge Chapel at the 
Dissolution, than I have to speak of that concerning the 
Common Seal belonging to the officers of London Bridge. 
Stow tells us, as you may remember, in vol. ii., p. 25, of 
his ' Survey,' that ' at a Common Council, July 14, 
Anno 33, Henry VIII. — 1450, — it was ordered, that the 
Seal of the Bridge-House should be changed ; because 
the image of Thomas Becket, sometime Archbishop of 
Canterbury, was graven therein ; and a new T Seal to be 
made, devised by Mr. Hall, to whom the old Seal was 
delivered. Note, this was occasioned by a Proclamation, 
which commanded the names of the Pope, and Thomas 
of Becket, to be put out of all books and monuments ; 
which is the reason you shall see them so blotted out in 
all old Chronicles, Legends, Primers, and Service-books, 
printed before these times/ Of these erasures, the best 
account is in Bishop Burnet's ' History of the Reforma- 
tion of the Church of England,' Lond. 1681, fol., vol. i., 
book iii., p. 294 ; where it is asserted that such altera- 



282 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

tions were but slight, and that the old Mass-books were 
still in use, until the time of Queen Mary, when the 
castrated volumes f were everywhere brought in, and 
destroyed ; all Parishes being compelled to furnish them- 
selves with new copies of the Church Offices : and Stow, 
on p. 191 of the second volume of his c Survey,' states 
that in the book marked D of the City Records, the 
name of St. Thomas was omitted, in pursuance of the 
King's edict. 

" We have thus come down to the times of that most 
eminent and laborious Antiquary, John Leland, to whose 
works I have already made some slight illustrative re- 
ferences ; and the volume to which I am now about to 
request your attention, is one of the most rare and curious, 
though not the greatest, of his productions. Let me re- 
mind you, however, before I mention the work itself, 
that Leland was, very probably, born in the Parish of 
St. Michael le Quern, London, in September, about the 
year 1506 ; that he was educated at St. Paul's School, in 
both the Universities, and in France ; that he made a 
literary and an antiquarian tour, of amazing minuteness 
and research, by virtue of a commission from King Henry 
VIII., in 1533; and that he died in a state of mental 
derangement, April the 18th, 1552, having lived about 
live years under its heaviest pressure. The particular 
volume of his writings to which I would refer you, as 
containing much original and curious matter concerning 
London Bridge, is a Latin Poem, written in verses of 
five feet, yet not strictly in pentameters, entitled 'Kykneion 
Asma, Cygnea Cantio : A Swan's Song; the Author, 
John Leland, the Antiquary.' Of this book there are 
two editions ; a quarto, printed at London in 1545; and 
a duodecimo, also published here in 1658; though the 
poem and commentary were again inserted in the 9th 
volume of Hearne's edition of c Leland's Itinerary ;' 
since, as he states in his preface thereto, they 6 ought to 
be looked upon as part of the Itinerary ;' and that they 



154:5.'] LONDON BRIDGE. 233 

were grown so very rare, that though twice reprinted, 
they had sold, even so far back as 1712, for forty shillings 
in auctions. Bishop Nicolson, in his ' English Historical 
Library/ p. 3, characterises this work as ? a poetical 
piece of flattery, or a panegyric on King Henry ; wherein 
the author brings his Swan down the River of Thames, 
from Oxford to Greenwich, describing, as she passes along, 
all the towns, castles, and other places of note within 
her view. And the ancient names of these, being some- 
times different from what the common herd of writers 
had usually given, therefore in his commentary on this 
Poem, he alphabetically explains his terms, and, by the 
bye, brings in a great deal of the ancient geography of 
this island/ The first passage that I shall cite you 
from this curious volume, is from p. 8, verse 213, edition 
1658 ; which commences c Mox et ndbilium domos 
virorum;' but as 1 have, for the first time, done it into 
English verse, I will repeat you only my paraphrase, 
rather than the original Latin, observing that I have 
strictly adhered to all the actual facts. 

1 oMore plainly now, as o'er the tide 
With swift, but gentle course we glide ; 
The sight embraces in its ken 
Those dwellings of illustrious men, 
Where Thames upon his bauks descries 
The brave, the courteous, and the wise. 
But, Oh ! that sight too well recalls 

The name of one, whose love was shrined 
"Within his river-seated hails, 

Less richly furnish'd than his mind 
For Wisdom had endow'd his heart 

With all that gilds mortality ; 
But he was man, and Death's keen dart 

Changed so much of him as could die, 
Into his body's native earth, 
To give his soul an heavenly birth. 
Yet, whilst we muse on Time's career, 
And hail his care-worn kindred here, 
The streaming river bears us on 
To London's mighty Babylon : 



234 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

And that vast Bridge, which proudly soars, 
Where Thames through nineteen arches roars, 
And many a lofty dome on high 
[ It raises towering to the sky. 

' There are, whose truth is void of stain, 
Who write, in Lion Richard's reign, 
That o'er these waves extended stood 
A ruder fabric, framed of wood : 
But when the swift- consuming flames 
Destroy'd that bulwark of the Thames, 
Rebuilt of stone it rose to view, 
Beneath King John its splendours grew, 
Whilst London pour'd her wealth around, 
The mighty edifice to found ; 
The lasting monument to raise 
To his, to her eternal praise, 
Till, rearing up its form sublime, 
It stands the glory of all time I 

' Yet here we may not longer stay, 
But shoot the Bridge and dart away, 
Though, with resistless fall, the tide 
Is dashing on the bulwarks' side ; 
And roaring torrents drown my song 
As o'er the surge I drift along.' 

" Such then, Mr. Barbican, is my rapid version of 
those interesting verses contained in the i Cygnea Cantio;' 
and we shall next refer to the famous passage in the Com- 
mentary upon it, though, in order to be perfectly explicit, 
I must previously mention some of the circumstances 
which caused it to be written. 

" John Bale, an intimate friend, and most fervent 
admirer of Leland, admits, in the Preface attached to his 
6 New Year s Gift,' that he was not quite free from the 
weakness of boasting and vain -glory. An instance of this 
is to be found in the Commentary on that part of the 
c Cygnea Cantio/ where he is speaking of London Bridge; 
and you will find the passage referred to in a work to 
which I have been greatly indebted for these notices of 
Leland and his writings : — 6 The Lives of those eminent 
Antiquaries, John Leland, Thomas Hearne, and Anthony 



1 545.] LONDON BRIDGE. 235 

a Wood/ Oxford, 1772, 8vo., vol. i. p. 47, where it is 
also stated, that London Bridge was then the subject of 
much public attention. By far the most curious re^ 
ference to Leland's invective, however, is to be seen in an 
original Letter written from Hearne to Bagford, and pre- 
served in the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts, No>. 
5910, Part iv. at the end ; whence I shall give it you m 
all its original simplicity. 

Oxf. WihJulf, 17 14. 
" ' Sir, 

,r Tis a pretty while since I received another part of 
your ohservations about London, together with some fragments and 
books, and a copy of Leland's * Encomia illustrorum virorum.* 
The gentleman who lent this copy is a person for whom I have* a 
great honour, and I desire you would return him my service and 
thanks, altho* I have already done this myself in a letter I writ to 
him. I should he glad to know whether he he Esq., or what 
other title I may call him by, if I should have occasion to make 
public mention of his name. I am extremely obliged to you for 
your care and trouble, and for your readiness to assist me. As for 
what Leland says about London Bridge, 'tis in the word Pontifices 
in his Com. upon the " Cygnea Cantio.'" Some ignorant per- 
sons, and particularly one, had found fault with his making only 
nineteen arches in London Bridge, when, as they alleged, there were 
twenty. Mr. Leland acknowledges there were twenty cataracts, 
or passages, but observes that one of them was only a sluice, or 
Draw-Bridge, and that there were only nineteen stone arches. 
Upon this he takes occasion to animadvert in short upon the afore- 
said person, who had been so pert, and promises to take more 
notice of him afterwards, and at the same time to expose him 
according to his deserts. He tells us he had surveyed the whole 
City, and took notes of every thing of consequence in it, and 
insinuates that he would publish a most full and exact account of 
its History and Antiquities. 'Twas in this work the remarks of 
the aforesaid Observator were to be fully considered; but Mr. 
Leland dying before he could finish either this, or divers other 
undertakings, his papers came into other hands, and those about 
London (which were considerable) coming to Mr. Stowe, many of 
them are published in the Survey of London as Mr. Stowe's own, 
and others are entirely lost, or, at least, 'tis not at present known 
who has the possession of them.' 

«T» Sp *£ 3fc # W 

6 For Mr. John Bagford, at the 
Charter House, London.' 



230 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" After this flourish of trumpets, concerning Leland 
and London Bridge, I proceed to translate for you the 
very amusing passage itself, premising only that you, 
will find it on p. 133, in that edition of the work which 
I have already cited. — Pontifices : Bridge Masters, 
officers who derive their name from the nature of their 
employment, namely, the constructing of Bridges, or the 
keeping of them in order ; of. whom also are the two 
Governors charged with the care of London Bridge. 
These officers have an excellent house in the suhurb of 
South wark, as well as a storehouse containing everything 
belonging to their occupation. Rodolphus a Diceto 
relates in his History, that Peter of Colechurch, a Priest, 
laid the foundations of a new Bridge : but though it was 
at first very inconsiderable, Royal and Civic munificence 
afterwards brought it to be the edifice which it now 
appears. Upon this subject, Courteous Reader, I am 
assailed by a whole herd of blustering smatterers, of 
whom there is one more insignificant than even the rest ; 
a fellow more notorious for loquacity than eloquence, and 
prodigiously self-conceited ; he, truly, shamelessly asserts 
me to have mistaken in my enumeration of the Arches 
of London Bridge. And he being, I warrant you, a 
critic of rare sagacity, plucks up by the roots, rends, and 
mangles, all by his own mighty authority, an't please 
you, the pretended oversight on my part. But no more 
at present ; for upon another opportunity I am about to 
overwhelm his intolerable stupidity, and trample down 
his arrogance ; I merely then reply to him, that one 
eye-witness is of more value than ten hearsays. I am a 
Citizen of London, nor do I repent me of my country ; 
and I hope also that she may never have any reason to 
repent her of her son. To thee then, thou vile com- 
panion, Geta,' — the name, you may remember, of a very 
knavish servant in Terence's ' Phormio,'— 6 to thee I say 

To none tbe City better known can be, 
AH London is a monument to me ! 



1548.] LOXDOX BRIDGE. 23? 

Suppose thou wert to try thy skill at searching into that 
antiquity which involves this wonder of our city ? Per- 
chance thou mayest learn something, unless thou art 
half- ashamed to learn under my tuition. But why should 
we not now return to the matter of the Bridge ? London 
Bridge then, as it extends itself from North to South, 
has twenty cataracts ; hut of arches^ incurvated passages 
formed of solid stone, there are no more than nineteen. 
That platform, having the figure of a Bridge, made of 
level wooden planks, capable of being raised or lowered 
by machines, that an enemy may not find an open 
passage, I neither can, nor will, nor ought reasonably to 
call an arch. And yet thou wert greatly m hope of a 
mighty triumph over me in this matter ; but by these 
w T ords thus easily do i snatch away from thee thine air- 
built castles. 

For though AntEeus thou should'st be, or Polyphemus vast, 
, Or Atlas, on whose shoulders broad the world itself was cast, 
To hope to triumph o'er me were but labour spent in vain, 
And thou, I deem, wilt wiser be if e'er we meet again. 

1 And now, get thee hence, thou Geta, and fail not 
to proclaim to all your pot companions, your notable 
discovery of twenty arches in London Bridge V 

" I have next, Mr. Barbican, to commend to your 
notice the account of London Bridge and the Thames, 
given to us by that most learned man and voluminous 
writer, Paulus Jovius, Bishop of Nocera, an historian 
who was born at Como, in Italy, in 1483, and died in 
1552. The passage to which I allude, is in his ' De- 
scriptio Britannia, Scotiae, Hyberniee, et Orchadum,' 
Venice, 1548, small 4to, or 8vo, p. 12 a, beginning ; Sed 
harum et denique omnium et famam Londinum penitus 
obscurat ;' but I shall here again take the freedom to 
anticipate time a little, and give you under one year a 
translation of Paulus Jovius, and Sir Paul Hentzner's 
description of the same object ; since the former is cited 
by the latter, and both are excellently well rendered into 



£38 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

English in that very curious and rare production of the 
Strawberry-Hill press, entitled * A Journey into England, 
by Paul Hentzner, in the Year M.D.XC.VIII.,' printed 
in 1757, 8vo ; on p. 4 of which the passage thus com- 
mences, ' On the South is a Bridge of stone, 800 feet in 
length, of wonderful work ; it is supported upon 20 piers 
of square stone, 60 feet high, and 30 broad, joined by 
arches of about 20 feet diameter. The whole is covered 
on each side with houses, so disposed as to have the 
appearance of a continued street, not at all of a Bridge. 
Upon this is built a tower, on whose top the heads of 
such as have been executed for high treason are placed 
upon iron spikes : we counted above thirty. Paulus 
Jovius, in his description of the most remarkable towns 
Of England, says, ' All are obscured by London ; which, 
in the estimation of many, is Caesars City of the Trino- 
bantes, the capital of all Britain, famous for the com- 
merce of many nations ; its houses are elegantly built, 
its churches fine, its towers strong, and its riches and 
abundance surprising. The wealth of the world is wafted 
to it by the Thames, swelled by the tide, and navigable 
to merchant ships, through a safe and deep channel for 60 
miles, from its mouth to the City. Its banks are every- 
where beautified with fine country seats, woods, and 
farms ; below, is the Royal Palace of Greenwich ; above, 
that of Richmond ; and between both, on the West of 
London, rise the noble buildings of Westminster, most 
remarkable for the Courts of Justice, the Parliament, and 
St. Peter s Church, enriched with the Royal tombs. At 
the distance of 20 miles from London, is the Castle of 
Windsor, a most delightful retreat of the Kings of Eng- 
land, as well as famous for several of their tombs, and for 
the most renowned ceremonial of the Order of the 
Garter. This river abounds in swans, swimming in 
flocks; the sight of them, and their noise, are vastly 
agreeable to the fleets that meet them in their course. 
It is joined to the City by a Bridge of stone wonderfully 



1550.]] LONDON BRIDGE. 239 

built ; is never encreased by any rains, rising only with 
the tide, and is every where spread with nets, for the 
taking of salmon and shad.' Thus far Paulus Jovius. 

" I have given you the whole of this passage, because 
it is curious in itself, most elegantly translated by Lord 
Orford, and because, in the accounts of ancient London 
which we derive from the foreigners who have visited it, 
there is most commonly a delineation of some feature 
which others have neglected ; as I shall have several 
opportunities of showing you hereafter. I have only to 
add at present, that Paul Hentzner was an eminent 
German Counsellor and traveller, who died in 1623 ; and 
whose work, whence I have extracted the foregoing 
description, is entitled ' Itinerarium Germanise, Galliae, 
Angliae, et Italiae,' &c., best edition, Nuremberg, 1629, 
4to. It was written during a journey which he made 
through those countries with the young Count Rhediger, 
with whom he had been at the University of Strasburg ; 
its elegance of language is particularly remarkable, and 
the part relating to England is generally considered as 
the best. 

" In the fourth year of the reign of King Edward the 
Sixth, — 1550, — those extensive Letters Patent were 
granted to Southwark, by which the famous Fair was 
instituted in that Borough, to be held on the 7th, 8th, 
and 9th of September. The Patent was dated the 20th 
of April, and the sum of 647/. 2s. Id. was paid for it to 
the King, by the Mayor and Corporation of London. At 
the time of this Fair, anciently called ' Our Lady Fair in 
Southwark/ the Lord Mayor, and Sheriffs, used to ride 
to St. Magnus' Church after dinner, at two o'clock in 
the afternoon ; the former being vested with his collar of 
SS., without his hood, and all dressed in their scarlet 
gowns, lined, without their cloaks. They were attended 
by the Sword-Bearer wearing his embroidered cap, and 
carrying < the Pearl Sword ;' and, at the Church, were 
met by the Aldermen, all of whom, after Evening Prayer, 



240 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

rode over the Bridge in procession, passed through the 
Fair, and continued either to St. George's Church, New- 
ington Bridge, or to the stones pointing out the City 
liberties at St. Thomas of Waterings. They then re- 
turned over the Bridge, or to the Bridge-House, where a 
banquet was provided, when the Aldermen took leave of 
the Lord Mayor, and, all parties being returned home, 
the Bridge- Masters gave a supper to the Lord Mayor s 
officers. Stow and his continuators are my authorities 
for these particulars; see vol. ii. of his 4 Survey,' pp. 5, 
249. 

" Our voyage down the stream of history, and of time, 
has at length conducted us to the reign of Queen Mary, 
and the year 1554 ; when her proposed marriage with 
Philip II., of Spain, alarmed all the nation, lest the 
Inquisition should be established in England, and the 
people become the vassals of the Spanish crown. But 
although the Protestants were the most alarmed at this 
marriage, when the treaty was made public the com- 
plaints and murmurs against it became almost universal ; 
and, finally, produced a conspiracy against Mary, of 
which it was certainly either the cause, or the pretence. 
One of the principal leaders of this plot was Sir Thomas 
Wyat, a gentleman of Kent, who had frequently been 
Ambassador to Spain, where the cruelty and subtilty of 
the people had alarmed him for the future fate of his 
own country. As the insurrection was intended to be 
general, his sphere of action was to be Kent ; whilst Sir 
Peter Carew excited a rising in Cornwall, and the Duke 
of Suffolk in Warwickshire, as being the centre of the 
kingdom. From too hasty preparations, however, and 
too rapidly assembling his forces, the designs of Carew 
were discovered before they were entirely perfected ; one 
of his accomplices was arrested ; and he saved himself 
only by deserting the enterprise and escaping to France. 
This unexpected discovery accelerated all the other 
measures; for, though it was intended to await the 



1554.] LONDON BRIDGE. 241 

arrival of King Philip, to %ive a colour to the rebellion, 
Wyat, notwithstanding he was unprepared, marched his 
few followers to Maidstone, and gave out that he took 
up arms to preserve England from being invaded. He 
had little success on his way to London, but the City 
Trained-bands being, by a manoeuvre, induced to desert 
to him, he arrived with about 4000 men in Southwark, 
on Saturday, February the 3d, 1553-54. The prudence 
of that excellent man, Sir Thomas White, then Lord 
Mayor, had, however, already prepared for his coming ; 
added to which, the Queen, who remained in Guildhall, 
appointed Lord William Howard Lieutenant of the 
City. The Draw- Bridge at London Bridge w r as then 
cut down and thrown into the River ; the Bridge gates 
were shut ; ramparts and fortifications were raised around 
them ; ordnance was planted to defend them ; and the 
Mayor and Sheriffs, well armed for the conflict, com- 
manded all persons to shut their shops and windows, and 
to stand ready harnessed at their doors for any event 
w T hich might occur. As Wyat found there was no 
opposition made to him in Southwark, some of his soldiers 
completely sacked the Bishop of Winchesters Palace, 
and destroyed his extensive library ; whilst at the Bridge 
foot he laid two pieces of ordnance, and dug an extensive 
trench between the Bridge and his forces. In order to 
gain an entrance to the Bridge, Sir Thomas brake down 
the w T all of a house adjoining the gate, by which he 
ascended the leads over the gate, and then coming down 
into the Porter s lodge, about eleven at night, he found 
the Porter sleeping, but his wife, with several others, 
watching over a coal fire. On beholding Wyat, they 
suddenly started, when he commanded them to be silent, 
as they loved their lives, and they should have no hurt ; 
and, they timidly yielding to him, he and some others 
went upon the Bridge to reconnoitre. On the other side 
of the Draw-Bridge he saw the Lord Admiral, the Lord 
Mayor, Sir Andrew Judd, and one or two more in con- 

R 



242 CHRONICLES OF [a. P. 

sultation, for defence of the Bridge, as we may suppose, 
by fire or torch-light ; and after, for some time, carefully 
observing their deliberations, he returned to his party, 
unseen and in safety. Having stated to his followers the 
active measures of the Citizens, they began to consult 
what course they had better adopt to secure their own 
success and safety. The advice of some was to return 
to Greenwich, and crossing the water into Essex, enter 
London at Aldgate ; others, though they were suspected 
of treachery, were for going back into Kent to meet 
some friends and supplies ; when, at length, it was con- 
cluded that they should march along the Thames towards 
Kingston, and, crossing the Bridge of that place, enter 
the City on the West. 

" On the night previously to their departure, Monday, 
the 5th of February, as ' Thomas Menschen, one of the 
Lieutenant's men of the Tower,' — says Stow, in his 
' Annals,' p. 619, — c rowed with a sculler over against 
the Bishop of Winchester's Palace, there was a water- 
man of the Tower stayres, desired the sayd Lieutenant 
to take him in, who did so, which being espied of Wyatt's 
men, seauen of them with harquebusses called to them 
to land againe, but they would not, whereupon each man 
discharged their piece, and killed the sayd Waterman, 
which foorthwith falling downe dead, the sculler with 
much paine rowed through the Bridge to the Tower 
wharfe, with the Lieutenant's man and the dead man in 
his boat; which thing was no sooner knowne to the 
Lieutenant, but even the same night, and the next 
morning, hee bent seauen great pieces of ordnance, 
cvluerings and demi- canons, full against the foote of the 
Bridge, and against Southwarke, and the two steeples of 
Saint Olaues and Saint Mary Oueries, besides all the 
pieces on the White Tower, one culuering on the 
Diueling Tower, and three fauconets ouer the Water- 
gate : which so soone as the inhabitants of Southwarke 
vnderstood, certaine both men and women came to Wyat 



1555.] LONDON BRIDGE. 243 

in most lamentable wise, saying, c Sir, wee are all like to 
bee vtterly vndone, and destroyed for your sake, our 
houses shall by and bye bee throwne downe vpon our 
heads, to the vtter spoyle of this borrough, with the shot 
of the Tower, all ready bent and charged towards vs, for 
the loue of God therefore take pittie upon vs :' at which 
wordes hee being partly abashed, stayed a while, and 
then sayd : ' I pray you my friends bee content a while, 
and I will soone ease you of this mischiefe, for God for- 
bid that you, or the least here, should be killed, or hurt, 
in my behalfe. And so, in most speedie manner, hee 
marched away/ 

u He next proceeded to Kingston, where he devised 
the means of crossing the river, though the bridge was 
destroyed ; and on the 7th of February he entered Lon- 
don. His unhappy story is no farther connected with 
that of London Bridge ; and it will therefore be sufficient 
to observe that he was executed on the 11th of April, on 
Tower-hill, his quarters being set up in several places, 
and his head on the gibbet at Hay -hill, near Hyde Park ; 
whence, however, it was soon after stolen and carried 
away. In addition to Stow's ' Annals,' let me observe 
that I have also quoted from Holinshed's ' Chronicle,' 
vol. in., p. 1097. 

" Although, as I have fully shown you, London Bridge 
was, in general, most intimately connected with the 
principal executions of the times, yet I do not read that 
it was rendered remarkable in the days of Queen Mary, 
by being made the scene of any of the numerous Protes- 
tant martyrdoms, which have eternally blotted her short, 
but sanguinary reign. There is, however, in Fox, a 
short anecdote connected with our present subject, which 
I quote the more readily, as it also bears a reference to 
the Church of St. Magnus. Upon the death of Pope 
Julius III., in 1555, Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Win- 
chester and Lord Chancellor, wrote to Bonner, Bishop 
of London, to command him in Queen Mary's name to 
r2 



244 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

order those prayers to be used throughout his diocese, 
which the Roman Church has appointed during a vacancy 
in the Papal See. ' Vpon this commandment/ — says 
John Fox, in his immortal c Acts and Monuments of 
Martyrs ;' London, 1610, vol. iii. ? p. 1417, column 2, — 
4 on Wednesday in Easter weeke,' — which, in 1555, was 
the 17th of April, — Q there were hearses set vp, and diriges 
sung for the said Julius, in diuers places. At which time 
it chanced a woman to come into Saint Magnus Church, 
at the Bridge-foot in London, and there seeing an hearse 
and other preparation, asked what it meant : and other 
that stood by, said that it was for the Pope, and that she 
must pray for him. " Nay," quoth she, " that I will not, 
for he needeth not my prayer : and seeing he could forgiue 
vs all our sins, I am sure he is cleane himselfe : therefore 
I neede not to pray for him." She was heard speake these 
words of certaine that stood by : which by and by carried 
her vnto the cage at London Bridge, and bade her coole 




her selfe there/ In some of the editions of Fox there is 
an engraving representing this circumstance, which shows 



1556.] LONDON BRIDGE. 245 

that the Stocks and Cage stood by one of the archways 
on the Bridge, and in one of the vacant spaces which 
looked on to the water. 

I will but add, that Cages and Stocks were ordered to be 
set up in every Ward of the City by Sir William Capell, 
Draper, and Lord Mayor, in 1503. 

" I cannot illustrate the year 1556 farther than by an 
extract from the Account-Rolls of the Bridge-Keepers, 
taken from the printed document already mentioned; and 
the general particulars are as follow. '1556. Andrew 
Woodcock and William Maynard, Bridge- Masters, 
received for this year's fee, each, 26/. 13s. 4d. — 53/. 6s. Sd. 
Horse keeping to each, 2/. — 41. Livery, each 1/. — 21. 
Total to each of them, 29/. 13s. 4d. Sum of the whole 
59/. 6s. 8d. Rental, 1069/. lis. 6{d! 

" The next view which we find representing London 
Bridge, is supposed to have been taken about this time, 
or at least before the year 1561, since it shows the Cathe- 
dral of St. Paul surmounted by its famous spire, which 
was then destroyed. The picture, itself, is a prospect of 
London, taken from St. Catherine's, below the Tower, 
over the gate of which are two turrets, since gone, and 
behind the Tower is a view of Grace Dieu Abbey in 
the Minories, with the spires and tops of several other 
Churches and buildings. Mr, Gough, in his ' British 
Topography,' vol. i., p. 748, esteems this to be the oldest 
view of London extant ; and states that it was a painting 
in the possession of Mr. John Grove, of Richmond, who 
had it engraven in Nov. 1754, by J. Wood, and dedi- 
cated to the Right Honourable Philip, Lord Hardwicke, 
Lord Chancellor, &e. This view consists of a whole- 
sheet folio plate, executed in the line-manner; the Bridge 
is shown in the distance, having fifteen arches only, with 
three separate piles of buildings and towers above : and 
in the front are several ancient vessels and boats. 
Though Mr. Gough states that the plate has been mis- 
laid, impressions from it are by no means exceedingly 



246 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

rare, excepting when they are in fine preservation, as to 
colour and margin; and, it should be remarked, that 
there is also a quarto copy of it in the second number of 
a singular, but unfinished work, published by Messrs, 
Boy dell and Co. in 1818, entitled c London before the 
Great Fire/ This view of London Bridge is, however, 
much too distant for our purpose ; even if its authority 
were less apocryphal, than it is generally supposed to 
be. 

" The year 1564 was remarkable, inasmuch as it 
concerned London Bridge, for a severe frost upon the 
Thames, which began on Thursday, December the 21st, 
and of which Stow, in his ' Annals,' p. 658, and Holinshed 
in his ' Chronicle,' vol. iii., p. 1208, give you some par- 
ticulars. It is there stated, that the frost continued to 
such an extremity, that on New- Years Eve 4 people 
went ouer and alongst the Thames on the ise from 
London Bridge to Westminster. Some plaied at the 
football as boldlie there, as if it had beene on the drie 
land : diuerse of the Court being then at Westminster, 
shot dailie at prickes set vpon the Thames; and the 
people, both men and women, went on the Thames in 
greater numbers, than in anie street of the Citie of 
London. On the third daie of January at night, it 
began to thaw, and 6n the fift there was no ise to be 
seene betweene London Bridge and Lambeth, which 
sudden thaw caused great floods and high waters, that 
bare downe bridges and houses, and drowned manie 
people in England : especiallie in Yorkshire, Owes Bridge 
was borne awaie with others/ 

" Stow relates in his ' Survey/ vol. i., p. 64, that in 
April, 1577, the Tower which stood at the Northern 
end of the Draw-Bridge on London Bridge, was become 
so decayed as to require taking down and removing. 
A new building was consequently then commenced, and 
the heads of the traitors which had formerly stood upon 
it were re- erected on the Tower over the Gate at the 



1577.] LONDON BRIDGE. 247 

Bridge foot, South wark ; which was subsequently known 
by the name of Traitors' Gate. 




64 Whilst I am speaking to you of the removal of these 
heads to the South end of London Bridge, — though it 
comes a little out of the order of time, — I must not forget 
to notice the increase of their number, by those of several 
persons who were executed for not acknowledging King 
Henry VIII. as Supreme Head of the Church of 
England. The Act, by which he was so constituted, 
was passed in the 27th year of his reign, — 1535, — and it 
ordained that all who refused to take the Oath of the 
King's Ecclesiastical Supremacy, and renounce that of 
the Pope, whether Clergyman or layman, should be 
considered as guilty of High Treason. The first who 
suffered under this Act were several of the Carthusian 
Monks of the Charter- house, — preceded by their Prior, 
John Houghton, on Tuesday, May the 4th, — whose 



248 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

heads were then set up on the Bridge : hut two of the 
most eminent and remarkable instances, were those of 
Bishop Fisher, and Sir Thomas More, to which I shall 
request your attention whilst I give you a few parti- 
culars. 

" John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was executed on 
St. Albans day, Tuesday, the 22d of June, 1535, about 
ten in the morning ; and his head was to have been 
erected upon Traitors' Gate the same night, but that it 
was delayed to be exhibited to Queen Anne Boleyn. 
We gather these particulars from that most curious 
little duodecimo, written by Hall, but attributed to Dr. 
Thomas Baily, entitled 'The Life and Death of that 
renowned John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester,' London, 
1655 ; in which also, at p. 211, there is the following 
interesting passage concerning London Bridge : — ' The 
next day after his burying, the head, being parboyled, 
was pricked upon a pole, and set on high upon London 
Bridge, among the rest of the holy Carthusians' heads 
that suffered death lately before him. And here I cannot 
omit to declare unto you the miraculous sight of this 
head, which, after it had stood up the space of fourteen 
dayes upon the Bridge, could not be perceived to wast 
nor consume : neither for the weather, which then was 
very hot, neither for the parboyling in hot water, but 
grew daily fresher and fresher, so that in his life-time he 
never looked so well ; for his cheeks being beautified 
with a comely red, the face looked as though it had 
beholden the people passing by, and would have spoken 
to them, which many took for a miracle, that Almighty 
God was pleased to show above the course of Nature, in 
this preserving the fresh and lively colour in his face, 
surpassing the colour he had being alive, whereby was 
noted to the world the innocence and holinesse of this 
blessed father, that thus innocently was content to lose 
his head in defence of his Mother, the Holy Catholique 
Church of Christ. Wherefore the people coming daily 



1577. J LONDON BRIDGE. 249 

to see this strange sight, the passage over the Bridge was 
so stopped with their going and coming, that almost 
neither cart nor horse could passe : and, therefore, at 
the end of fourteen daies, the executioner was commanded 
to throw downe the head, in the night-time, into the 
River of Thames, and, in the place thereof, was set the 
head of the most blessed and constant martyr, Sir Thomas 
More, his companion, and fellow in all his troubles, who 
suffered his passion* — on Tuesday, — l the 6th of July 
next following/ about nine o'clock in the morning. 

" The circumstances attendant upon the relique of 
this most eminent man, were but little less singular than 
the preceding; and Thomas More, his great-grandson, 
in his very interesting Life of him, printed at London, 
in 8vo, 1726, pp. 276, 277, says, c his head was putt vpon 
London Bridge, where as tray tors' heads are sett vpon 
poles : and hauing remained some moneths there, being 
to be cast into the Thames, because roome should be 
made for diuerse others, who, in plentiful sorte, suffered 
martyrdom e for the same Supremacie, shortly after it 
was bought by his daughter Margaret t, least — as she 
stoutly affirmed before the Councell, being called before 
them for the same matter — it should be foode for fishes ; 
which she buried where she thought fittest. It was very 
well to be knowen, as well by the liuelie fauour of him, 
which was not all this while in anie thing almost dimi- 
nished ; as also by reason of one tooth which he wanted 
whilst he liued : herein it was to be admired, that the 
hayres of his head being almost gray, before his martyr- 
dome, they seemed now, as it were, readish or yellow/ 
The pious daughter of this most celebrated Chancellor, 
is said to have preserved this relique in a leaden case, 
and to have ordered its interment, with her own body, in 
the Roper vault, under a chapel adjoining St. Dunstan's, 
Canterbury, where it was seen in the year 1715 ; and 
again very recently. 

" About the time of removing the black and decaying 



A. D. 



250 CHRONICLES OF 

fragments of these heads, there seem to have been several 
other alterations and improvements effected upon London 
Bridge ; for Stow tells us that, to replace the Tower 
which was taken down, ' a new foundation was drawn, 
and Sir John Langley, the Lord Mayor, laid the first 
stone of another building, in presence of the Sheriffs, and 
Bridge Masters, on Wednesday, the 28th of August, 
1577. In September, 1579, the Tower was finished, 
being a beautiful and chargeable piece of work, and having 
all its fabric above the Bridge formed of timber/ This 
erection, then, formed a second Southwark Gate and 
Tower. The structure consisted of four circular turrets, 




connected by curtains, and surmounted by battlements, 
containing a great number of transom casements ; within 
which, having their roofs and chimneys rising above the 



1579,] LONDON BRIDGE. 251 

Tower, were several small habitations, whilst beneath, 
was a broad covered passage ; the building itself project- 
ing considerably over each side of the Bridge, the width 
of the carriage-way, at this part, being about 40 feet. 
Perhaps, however, the most splendid and curious building 
which adorned London Bridge at this time, was the 
famous Nonesuch House ; so called, because it was 




constructed in Holland, entirely of wood, and, being brought 
over in pieces, was erected in this place with wooden 
pegs only, not a single nail being used in the whole 
fabric. It stood at some distance beyond the edifice 
which I last described to you, nearer the City, at the 
Northern entrance of the Drawbridge ; and its situation 
is even yet pointed out to you, by the 7th and 8th arches 
of London Bridge, from the South wark end, being still 



252 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

called the Draw Lock, and the Nonesuch Lock. On the 
London side of the Bridge, the Nonesuch House was 
partly joined to numerous small wooden dwellings, of 
^bout 27 feet in depth, which hung over the parapet on 
each side, leaving, however, a clear space of 20 feet in 
the centre ; though, over all these, its carved gables, 
cupolas, and gilded vanes, majestically towered. Two 
Sun-dials, declining East and West, also crowned the top 
on the South side ; on the former of which was painted 
the old and appropriate admonition of 6 Time and Tide 
stay for no man ; * though these ornaments do not 
appear to have been erected until the year 1681, in the 
Mayoralty of Sir Patience Ward. This we learn from 
Edward Hatton's c New View of London,' vol. ii. p. 791, 
ft Like most of those other buildings, this celebrated 
edifice also overhung the East and West' sides of the 
Bridge ; and there presented to the Thames two fronts, 
of scarcely less magnificence than it exhibited to South- 
wark and the City ; the columns, windows, and carving, 
being similarly splendid ; and, thus, equally curious and 
interesting, was the Nonesuch House on London 
Bridge, seen from the water. {See opposite page.) 
Its Southern front only, however, stood perfectly uncon- 
nected with other erections, that being entirely free for 
about fifty feet before it, and presenting the appearance 
of a large building projecting beyond the Bridge on 
either side ; having a square tower at each extremity, 
crowned by short domes, or Kremlin spires, whilst an 
antiquely-carved gable arose in each centre. The whole 
of the front, too, was ornamented with a profusion of 
transom casement windows, with carved wooden galleries 
before them ; and richly sculptured wooden panels and 
gilded columns were to be found in every part of it. In 
the centre was an arch, of the width of the Drawbridge, 
leading over the Bridge ; and above it, on the South side, 
were carved the Arms of St. George, of the City of Lon- 
don, and those of Elizabeth, France and England quar- 



1579.] LONDON BRIDGE. 253 

terly, supported by the Lion and Dragon ; from which 
circumstance only, can we estimate the time when the 
Nonesuch House was erected." 

" Allow me, however, to observe at this place," said I, 
as Mr. Postern pronounced these last words, " that we 
have another and a very curious piece of evidence too, for 




believing that the Nonesuch House on London Bridge 
was placed there about this very period : inasmuch as 
that excellent and indefatigable antiquary, Mr. Sharp, of 
the most ancient city of Coventry, has discovered, in the 
manuscript accounts of that place, a memorandum which 



254 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

certainly has reference to this very building ; and which, 
as he has favoured me with a copy, I shall repeat to you. 
— c 1585. Paid to Durrani, the paynter, to bye Coulors 
to paynt the Vawte at the Maiors palace, in parte of 
payment of xxx s., to ley the vawte in oyle Colers 
substantially, the greate posts in jasper Collur, as the newe 
house on London Bridge ys : all the rayles in stone Cou- 
lo r , the smale pillors in white leade Coulors, the great 
pillars in perfect greene Coullo r xiij.s. iiij.d/ — * The 
Vawte, — he adds, — c was a balcony, or colonnade, in 
front of the Mayor's Parlour, supported by large pillars, 
and having a ballustrade of smaller pillars round the flat- 
leaded roof of it/ This, Mr. Barnaby, it must be con- 
fessed, is very like the features of the Nonesuch House 
on London Bridge : and it is not at all improbable but 
what we have here almost the very year of its erection." 

" You are right, w r orthy Mr. Barbican, you are right," 
said the old Historian of the Bridge ; " and I would to 
Heaven, that no Antiquarian discussion ever demanded a 
heavier concession. But now let us return for a while from 
the buildings on London Bridge, to the scattered events 
which illustrate its history ; for I purpose again speaking 
of its appearance when we arrive at the close of this cen- 
tury, and of then mentioning all the ancient prospects 
of it, whence I have drawn my descriptions of its edifices. 

" It was in 1582 that the idea was first formed of 
erecting Water- works against the Arches of London 
Bridge ; and of adapting the violence of the torrent, as it 
rushed through its narrow locks, to some purpose of 
general utility. As a good account of these original works 
is given in Stow's 4 Annals,' p. 606, and in Holinshed's 
c Chronicle,' vol. iii., p. 1348, I shall give you the very 
words, as conveying the best illustration of them. 4 This 
year,' — says Abraham Fleming, Holinshed's continuator, 
— ' Peter Moris, a Dutchman, but a Free-Denizen, hav- 
ing made an engine for that purpose, conueied Thames 
water in pipes of lead ouer the steeple of St. Magnus 



1583.] LONDON BRIDGE. 255 

Church, at the North end of London Bridge, and so into 
diuerse mens houses in Thames Street, New Fish Street, 
and Grasse-street, vp vnto the North-west comer of 
Leadenhall, — the highest ground of the Citie of London, 
—where the waste of the first maine pipe ran first this 
yeare, one thousand five hundred eightie and two, on 
Christmasse eeuen ; which maine pipe, being since at the 
charges of the Citie brought vp into a standard there 
made for that purpose, and diuided there into foure seve- 
rall spouts, ranne foure waies, plentifullie seruing to the 
vse of the inhabitants neere adioining, that will fetch the 
same into their houses, and also clensed the chanels of the 
streets, North towards Bishopsgate, East towards Aid- 
gate, South towards the Bridge, and west towards the 
Stocks Market. No doubt a great commoditie to that 
part of the Citie, and would be farre greater, if the said 
water were mainteined to run continuallie, or at the leastat 
euerie tide some reasonable quantitie, as at the first it did ; 
but since is much aslaked, thorough whose default I know 
not, sith the engine is sufficient to conueie water plenti- 
fullie : which, being well considered by Bernard Ran- 
dolph, Estmier, Common Sergeant of the Citie of London, 
he, being aliue, gaue and deliuered to the Company of 
Fishmongers, in London, a round sum to be imploied 
towards conducting the Thames water, for the good 
seruice of the Commonwealth, in conuenient order/ It 
was probably the success of this engine which occasioned 
another of four pumps, worked by horses, to be erected 
at Broken- Wharf, near Queenhithe ; invented, as Stow 
observes in his ' Annals/ p. 769, by Bevis Bulmar, ' a 
most ingenious gentleman/ It was at first intended to 
convey the Thames Water, by leaden pipes, to the whole 
Western part of London ; but after working it for a short 
time, it was laid aside, on account of its great charge 
both to the tenants and the proprietors. 

" After this I meet with but little to notice in our 
Bridge Annals, for several years, excepting, that in 1583, 



256 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

Sir Edward Osborne, being then Lord Mayor, is said to 
have introduced the custom of drinking to the new 
Sheriffs, although there is a ludicrous instance of such a 
ceremony in 1487 ; and that Stow's ' Annals' inform us, 
at p. 698, that on the conclusion of the Irish Rebellion, 
James, Earl of Desmond, a principal leader, 4 secretly 
wandering without any succour, being taken in his cabine 
by one of the Irish, his head was cut off and sent into 
England, where the same, — as the head of an arch- 
rebell, — was set on London Bridge on the thirteene of 
December.' 

"It was on December 4, 1586, that the Commissioners 
appointed to try the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, 
issued their sentence against her from Richmond ; which, 
on the 6th, was openly read in London, by William 
Sebright, the Town-Clerk. This proclamation, as Stow 
relates in his ' Annals/ p. 741, was made with the Ser- 
jeants at Arms, and by sound of trumpets, about ten 
o'clock in the morning, at four places in the City; namely, 
at the end of Chancery lane ; at the Cross in Cheapside ; 
at the corner of Leadenhall ; and also at St. Magnus, 
London Bridge. It was witnessed by several of the 
Nobility ; the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen, in their scar- 
let dresses ; the City Officers ; the principal part of the 
gentry of London, and the most eminent Citizens habited 
in velvet with gold chains; all mounted on horseback. 
The tidings which were thus made known, were received 
by the people with every kind of rejoicing ; 4 as mani- 
festly appeared,' - — says Stow,- — 'by ringing of bells, 
making of bonfires, and singing of psalmes in euery of 
the streetes and lanes of the Citie.' 

" I do not find, in the preparations for defending 
London against the Spaniards, in 1588, any orders 
concerning the guarding of the Bridge ; though in the 
scheme for marshalling the City, then drawn up by 
Edmund York > and printed in vol. ii. of Stow's - Survey,' 
p. 569, it is observed that the Bridge is to be one of the 



1588.] LONDON BRIDGE. 257 

places watched as a gate of London. This, however, 
was not the first time that the Citizens had been under 
military discipline, for Stow relates, in the same volume, 
p. 567, that in September, 1586, when so much danger 
was anticipated from the conspiracies of the Papists, a 
series of orders was drawn up for their instruction. In 
these regulations it was stated, that the gates should be 
shut every night, and the Portcullises put in order ; and 
that one of the stations of the watch by the water- side, 
should be by the engine which supplied the City with 
water, which was at the North- West corner of London 
Bridge, and almost adjoining to the present site of Fish- 
mongers' Hall. Both these anticipated dangers, however, 
passed away without any other effect upon London, than 
that of evincing the courage of the Citizens ; and, after the 
notable defeat of the Armada, eleven of the captured stan- 
dards were hung upon London Bridge towards South- 
wark, on Monday, September the 9th, the day of the Fair 
in that place„ to the great rejoicing of all who saw them. 
" Besides the before-mentioned engines for supplying 
the City with water, there were, however, also Corn 
Mills erected near London Bridge, at a very early period 
in the sixteenth century : for Stow, in vol. i. of his 
' Survey,' p. 42, observes that they were built on the 
Thames, about the year 1508. These were, however, 
not the most ancient machines of that nature erected 
about this place ; for in the year 1197, in an exchange 
of the Manor of Lambethe for the Manor of Darent, 
made between Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, and the Monks of Rochester, there is a notice of a 
Mill which c the aforesaid Monks have without South- 
wark on the Thames, towards the East, against the 
Tower of London/ You may see the original instrument 
in the third volume of Dugdale's ' Monasticon Angli- 
canum,' London, c In the Savoy/ 1673, fol., p. 4. It was 
therefore, upon these precedents, for the better supply 
of the City, in consequence of the dearth and scarcity of 



258 CHRONICLES OF £ A. J). 

corn which had extended for several miles round London, 
and also on account of the difficulty of grinding meal for 
the poor, that in March, 1588, the Mayor, Aldermen, 
and Commonalty, petitioned Queen Elizabeth that they 
might erect four Corn Mills under two roofs on the 
Thames, near the Bridge, in parts where they could not 
occasion any injury. On the 1st of April, therefore, a 
commission was addressed from the Court, at Green wich, 
to Mr. Rokesby, Master of St. Katherine s, Mr. Fanshaw, 
Master of the Requests, and Mr. Peter Osborn, Remem- 
brancer of the Exchequer, to call before them such 
persons as should be appointed by the City to manage 
their cause ; some of the principal Officers of the Navy, 
and certain Masters of the Trinity-House, to consult 
with them whether the erection of such Mills would be 
beneficial, or inconvenient ; and to consider in what 
places they should be set up, in order that the Queen 
might be moved to grant the City's petition. After this 
consultation, a certificate, dated May the 16th, was re- 
turned by all the parties summoned, and the eight Masters 
and Overseers of the River, and others of the Assistants 
of the Company of Watermen, that the erecting of such 
Mills could not in any way be hurtful to the Thames. 
But as Stow has left on record the Trinity-House Cer- 
tificate, I shall give it you in the original form and words, 

" i Whereas it bath pleased the Lords of Her Majesty's most 
Honourable Privy Council to direct their letter to the Worshipful 
Mr. Rookesby, Master of St. Katherine's, Mr. Fanshaw, Mr. 
Osborn, Commissioners for the building of certain Mills on the 
South side of Thames upon the starlings above the Bridge : and 
the Commissioners above-named, have sent for us, the Master and 
Assistants of the Trinity-House of Deptford- Strand in Kent, that 
we should make the survey, whether the erecting of those Mills 
might be prejudicial, or hurtful, to the said River; We whose 
names are hereunder written, with others, have taken a view of the 
said place, and do find, as far as we can judge and foresee, it will not be 
hurtful, nor prejudicial to the said River in any way. April 4th, 1588. 

John Hawkins. William Hoi stock. 

•Richard Gibs, Master, By me, Edw. Wilkinson. 

By me, Will. Harris. By me, Peter Hills/ 

By me, Tho. Andros. 



1588.] LONDON BRIDGE. 259 

M In Stow's same work and volume, page 62, he states, 
that as soon as these Mills were set up, complaint was 
made to the Court, which produced the foregoing in- 
quiry; and that it was then ordered, that the water 
should have free course through the arches ' of the 
Bridge, and that the parts of the Mills which stood 
nearest to the stonework of the edifice, should still be 
twelve feet distant from any part of it. The intent of 
these Mills was to provide a remedy for times of dearth, 
when the common people paid from 4d. to 6d. the bushel 
for grinding their corn, and often, for a considerable time, 
could not get it ground at all ; to supply which they were 
constrained to buy meal at the meal-sellers' own prices, 
which they increased at their pleasure. 

" We have no very perfect idea left us of the appear- 
ance of either the Mills, or the ancient Water-works 
erected against London Bridge. Gough, in his c British 
Topography/ vol. i. p. 735, states on the authority of 
Bagford, that in the Pepysian Library, at Cambridge, 
there is ' a draught of London Bridge, expressing the Mill 
at the end ; — as also a very old drawing of this Bridge on 
Fire, on vellum/ " 

"Yes, Master Postern," said I, "he does so; and that 
same ' very old drawing/ is nothing less than a most fair 
and interesting view of the Western side, as it appeared 
about the time of Elizabeth, or James I., delicately drawn 
with a pen, slightly shaded, coloured, and gilded, but all 
faded by time, and nearly worn out by having been 
folded in two, from the continual friction of the surfaces. 
It measures about 24^ inches, by 4§ inches ; and is now 
contained in the portfolio marked ' London and West- 
minster, 1. 246, 247, C As the Bridge is representee 1 
with the Northern end in a perfectly entire state, it mus 
have been drawn anterior to the great conflagration whicie 
destroyed it in 1632-33; though it was probably to coihe 
memorate that event, that some rude and barbarous b^ in 
has disfigured it with those numerous streaks oOand 
s 2 ;old ; 



260 CHRONICLES OF [a. D« 

which Bagford and Gough supposed to represent flames. 
From the minute and careful manner in which it is drawn, 
it may certainly be esteemed as peculiarly authentic ; 
and, therefore, I proceed to notice to you, that it, very 
probably, contains a representation of the four Mills, 
which you have already mentioned as being set up near 
this place. At the Southern end, below the .Traitor's 
Gate, is a kind of long shed, formed of shingles, or thin 
boards, erected on three of the sterlings, and covering, as 
the Citizens proposed, four water wheels, which edifice 
is, doubtless, intended to represent the Ancient Corn 
Mills at London Bridge. 




''- Now, Mr. Barnaby, as this building stands out so 

from the Bridge itself as to leave a considerable space 

\ jen them, though enclosed on all sides, a sort of 

■J^ ^i'-scjuare open at the top, it aj)pears to me an evi- 



1588.]] LONDON BRIDGE. 261 

dent proof that it represents those very Mills. In the 
roof of the building are three sets of windows ; and an 
open stage, or floor, appears a short distance below it. 
At the North end, also, of this most interesting prospect, 
against the first sterling, is a high square building, like 
a tower, having a low wooden gallery in front of it ; and 
a single water- wheel turning beneath it; which are, most 
probably, intended for the Waterworks and Tower at 
London Bridge. 




" With regard to the other principal features of the 
Pepysian view, I shall remark to you only, that the 
Western side of the Nonesuch House is delineated in 
the richest and most delicate manner, all its carvings and 
columns being minutely drawn and touched with gold ; 



262 CHBONICXES OF £a. I»„ 

whilst a whole grove of heads and quarters raised upoo 
staves stands upon the top of the Traitors' Gate beyond 
it ; and so much then for a brief description of this ancient 
prospect of London Bridge." 

" I am much your debtor, most worthy Master 
Geoffrey," said Mr. Postern, as I concluded ; " I truly 
am greatly your debtor, for these curious notices of a 
view, at once so rare, so interesting, and so antique : and ? 
touching the Water-house, or Tower, to which yon have 
alluded, although we have not any certain information 
of the time when it was erected, yet from the circum« 
stance of its appearing with a name in John Norden's 
yery scarce view of London Bridge, which I shall pre- 
sently mention, it may be supposed to have been set up 
in the time of Elizabeth, and was, perhaps, as old as the 
Water- works themselves. In the first edition of Stow's 
4 Survey,* by Strype, London, 1720, vol. i. book ii. p. 174, 
there is a passage relating to the Water-house, which 
does not appear either in the original edition of 1598 9 
nor in the last ancient one of 1633 ; and therefore may 
be very justly supposed to refer to the wooden building 
erected after the Great Fire ; when it will most properly 
be noticed. 

u I must here again refer to the Account-rolls of the 
Bridge Keepers, for the memoranda of some past years* 
revenues and expenditure, to inform you that in the year 
1562, the rental was 1071/. 6s. The salaries, and allow- 
ance for horsekeeping, to William Draper and Robert 
Essington, the Wardens, were the same as those paid in 
1556; but the liveries were increased to 3/. 6s. Sd. each. 
The whole amount for the year being 64/. In 1565, — 
says the same authority, — the allowance to each Bridge- 
Master for fees, livery, &c, was 33/. : and the rental of 
the estates amounted to 1168/. 8s. 5\d. : while in 1590, 
the Bridge rental was 1369/. 7s. 2d. ; and Robert Aske 
and James Conneld, the Wardens, paid the two Bridge- 
Masters for their Year's fee, 50/. each, with 3/. each 



1594.^ LONDON BRIDGE. '263 

for their horses and liveries ; making the whole charge 
106/. 

" In the year 1591, a most singular instance of drought 
occurred in the vicinity of our history, as you may read 
in Stow's 'Annals/ p. 765, where he states, that on 
6 Wednesday, the sixth of September, the wind West- 
and-by- South, as it had beene for the space of two days 
before, very boysterous, the riuer of Thamis was so 
voyd of water, by forcing out the fresh and keeping 
backe the sault, that men in diuers places might goe 
200 paces ouer, and then fling a stone to the land. A 
Collier, on a mare, rode from the North side to the 
South, and backe againe, on either side of London 
Bridge, but not without danger of drowning both wayes/ 

" The year 1594 was particularly remarkable for a 
dearth of corn, occasioned, as Stow tells us, it was sup- 
posed, — see his ' Annals/ p. 769, — by the English Mer- 
chants having exported it too largely. The summer had 
been extremely wet; for not only much rain fell in 
May : but, in the following two months, it commonly 
raine<3» every day, or night, until the 25 th of July, the 
Feast of St. James, and two days after, without inter- 
mission. Notwithstanding these floods a fair harvest 
followed in August, but the price of grain rose to 5s. for 
a bushel of Rye, whilst Wheat was sold from 6s< to 8s. 
the bushel, and increased even still higher. In conse- 
quence of this, Sir John Spencer the Lord Mayor, 
procured it to be ordered, that the several Companies of 
the City should presently provide themselves with cer- 
tain proportions of wheat and rye, to be laid up in the 
public granaries at the Bridge house. In December, 
however, the greatest part of their stores was yet wanting, 
and the Lord Mayor, therefore, issued a new order on 
the 13th of that month, directing that the whole quantity 
should be laid up hi the Bridge-House before the 8th of 
the ensuing January ; since corn was then being imported 
into England. At this period, Elizabeth was, most pro- 



264 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

bably, preparing those twenty-six vessels, which she 
despatched, the following year, to Spanish America, 
under Sir John Hawkins; since, in his capacity of Trea- 
surer of the Navy, he demanded of the Lord Mayor the 
Bridge-House, granaries, ovens, &c, for the use of the 
Queen s Navy, and baking biscuits for the fleet. Cecil, 
Lord Burleigh, who was then Lord Treasurer, being a 
great patron and protector of the City ; to him the 
Lord Mayor addressed a remonstrance against Sir John 
Hawkins, stating all the foregoing circumstances, that 
the City would be deprived of its provision, if he lent 
the granaries ; that the Companies would neglect to lay 
up the corn they were enjoined to do, and that grain 
must either be bought from the Badgers, or Meal- sellers, 
-or else the Merchants be discouraged from importing any 
more. He added also, that the ovens in the Bridge- 
House were required for baking bread for the City poor, 
at reduced rates ; and he concluded by representing that 
the Queen had not only granaries about Tower Hill, 
Whitehall, and Westminster, but that Winchester House 
was also in her possession, in which large quantities of 
corn might be deposited. This honest and spirited con- 
duct of the Lord Mayor produced, on the part of Admiral 
Hawkins, the reply ' that he should hear more to his 
further dislike,' as well as some letters from the Privy 
Council in censure of his proceedings. Upon which he 
again addressed the Lord Treasurer, entreated his favour 
and protection, and petitioned that the granaries might 
still be employed for the use of the City, lest the dearth 
of corn should yet increase, or the poor of London 
should be distressed for provision: adding that, as the 
City was then unprovided, his Lordship would hold him 
excused from resigning the Bridge House, and submitting 
himself to his good pleasure. With these answers, 
Hawkins was probably forced to be content, as we meet 
with no farther correspondence upon this subject. 

" With these particulars, then, terminate our annals 



1599.] LONDON BRIDGE. 265 

of London Bridge for the sixteenth century ; but before 
we pass on to the opening of the following one, let me 
mention to you the views of this edifice which we 
possess, illustrative of the period Ave have now arrived 
at, and give you a general idea of its appearance, whilst 
it yet remained in its greatest state of splendour. 

" One of the most ancient representations of London 
Bridge is contained in that painting of the procession of 
King Edward VI. from the Tower, to his Coronation at 
Westminster, February the 19th, 1547 ; the original of 
which was executed to decorate a part of the Great 
Dining Room of Cowdray Hall, Sussex, the seat of 
Viscount Montague, where it was destroyed by fire in 
1793. An engraving of this interesting picture was, 
however, published by the Society of Antiquaries in 
May, 1797 ; and the Bridge is there represented at the 
left hand of the engraving, containing four or five 
buildings erected on the side, in the centre of which 
rises a spire, perhaps meant for the Chapel of St, 
Thomas; and at the Southern end appears the gate. 
This, however, is but an oblique view, and by no means 
to be depended upon for its accuracy ; though, at the 
same time, the plate contains numerous other interesting 
features of antiquity, which render it invaluable to all the 
admirers of London in the olden times. The next most 
ancient prints of this edifice are those maps and plans of 
London which include the Bridge ; such as that con- 
tained in the ' Civitates Orbis Ten-arum,' by George 
Braun and Francis Hohenberg, vol. i., Cologne, 1523, 
fol., sig. A: — the famous map of Radulphus Aggas, 
published about 1588 ; and some others of less note, of 
which you have a tolerably accurate account in Richard 
Gough's 'British Topography,' vol. i. pp. 743 — 760. 
These plans, however, although exceedingly interesting, 
are, from their great extent, less pleasing than a view, as 
it regards particulars ; for the buildings are sometimes 
so rudely and minutely sketched, as to convey no perfect 



266 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

idea to the minds of such as desire to contemplate old 
London in all its original quaintness and antique beauty. 
" But, perhaps, the rarest and most curious prospect 
of London Bridge in the reign of Elizabeth, is that 
engraven by John Norden, of which an impression rests 
in Mrs. Sutherland's sumptuously-illustrated copy of 
Lord Clarendon s History of the Rebellion, in 31 volumes 
imperial folio, comprising 5800 prints and original draw- 
ings. Norden, you will recollect, was Surveyor to 
Henry, Prince of Wales, and died about 1626 ; and his 
view of London Bridge was, most probably, published 
two years before, for, though it is without date, it bears 
the arms of, and is dedicated to, Sir John Gore, Lord 
Mayor in 1624. The dedication states, however, that 
Norden had 4 described it in the time of Queene Eliza- 
beth, but that the plate had bene neare these 20 yeares 
imbezeled and detained by a person till of late vnknowne.' 
The view of the Bridge is taken from the Eastern side, 
and the edifice is represented horizontally, from South 
to North; though it is singularly enough stated to be 
from East to West : it measures 20j inches by 10f , and 
is engraved on a border surmounted by the arms and 
supporters of James I., having its name written upon a 
scroll. At each end of the print is a naked boy flying ; 
the one bearing a shield with the City Arms, and the 
other those of the person to whom it is dedicated, With 
respect to the Bridge itself, it is filled with buildings, in 
which the Traitor's Gate with the heads, the Nonesuch 
House, and the Chapel of St. Thomas, are particularly 
visible ; whilst above the houses, at the North end, is 
seen the top of the ' Water Worke' From the windows 
of several of the houses, buckets are being let down by 
long ropes into the water, which is seen rushing through 
the arches with great impetuosity, although there is no 
fall. On the right appears a boat overturned, its oars 
floating about, one man drowning, and two others being 
saved by another boat ; whilst two or three more vessels 



1599.] LONDON BRIDGE. 267 

&c, are seen in different parts of the picture. Along 
the lower part of the water are engraven the words 
' Tame Isis Flvvius vulgo Temms ; ' and below the print 
are the Dedication, and c The description of London 
Bridge^ in letter-press, in three columns, surrounded by 
a border of metal flowers, and signed John Norden. As 
this account is, of course, very short, and is chiefly taken 
from Stow, it • gives us but little information ; though, 
perhaps, the concluding paragraphs may not be unworthy 
of your attention. — c It were superfluous to relate vnto 
such as well know,' and duely do consider the forme and 
beauty of this famous Bridge : but to intimate it to the 
apprehension of strangers, I haue deliniated the same to 
the eye, how it is adorned with sumptuous buildings, 
and statelie and beautifull houses on either side, inha- 
bited by wealthy Citizens, and furnished with all 
manner of trades, comparable in it selfe to a little Citie, 
whose buildings are so artificially contriued, and so 
flrmely combined, as it seemeth more than an ordinary 
streete, for it is as one continuall vaute or roofe, except 
certaine voyde places, reserued from buildings, for the 
retire of passengers from the danger of carres, carts, and 
droues of cattell, vsually passing that way. This descrip- 
tion representeth vnto the eye the true forme of this 
famous pyle, as neare as arte — in this kinde of deliniation, 
— can be demonstrated : the number and forme of euery 
arch, and all the buildings ; their true height, breadth, 
and distance of euery particular, from the East towards 
the West : as for the other side it like wise appeareth 
in my prospectiue description of the Citie : the vaults, 
sellars, and places in the bowels as it were of the same 
Bridge, — which* are many and admirable, — excepted, 
which arte cannot discouer to the outward view. The 
situation, arte, and workmanship, in and about the 
Bridge, are affirmed by obseruing trauailers in all 
respects to exceede all the Bridges of the world. And. 
therefore, I thought it fit to represent it to the view r 



268 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the world, that it may know, that if one part of this 
Citie be so famous, how much more the whole : which, 
for state and Christian gouernment, may well challenge 
place before any Citie in Christendome. And therefore 
I present vnto you this simple modell of one of the 
wonders of the world/ So concludes the descriptive 
eulogy of Master Norden. And now, Sir, having men- 
tioned to you the great rarity of this print of London 
Bridge, and that if another impression of it were to 
appear, it would probably produce the respectable price 
of ten or fifteen guineas ; I must add that there has been 
an excellent fac-simile of it published by Mr. William 
Scott, of Great May's Buildings, St. Martin s Lane, for 
the more moderate sum of 10s. 6d., which no genuine 
lover of London, or London Bridge, should hesitate to 
procure. 

" The last view of this edifice which I shall at present 
notice to you, is one copied by Thomas Wood, Engraved 
by J. Pye, and dedicated to Brass Crosby, Esq., Lord 
Mayor, the Aldermen, and Common Council of the City 
of London ; and it represents the ' South View of the 
said City and part of Sov.thwarhe, as it appeared about 
the year 1599. 5 I am half inclined to believe, however, 
that this prospect is made up from Hollar s View, pub- 
lished in 1657; as it is certainly taken from the same 
point. The Bridge rises obliquely on the right hand: 
at the South end of it appears the South wark Gate, and 
beyond it is placed the rich tower which I have already 
described to you ; whilst a series of buildings, forming 
two distinct groups, with spaces between them, finish the 
picture, which has the old Church of St. Magnus for its 
Northern boundary. Even at this period, probably, 
some of the Arches of London Bridge had received those 
names by which they were so long afterwards known, 
though they were first inserted in Stow's ' Survey/ by 
Richard Bloom, one of the last of his Continuators before 
Strype ; but his account of these locks I shall speak of 



1599.] 



LONDON BRIDGE 




WTOll'Iil? 



270 CHRONICLES OF £ A, D. 

in the next century, and I will now only observe that 
such were the features of London Bridge in the Year 
1599. 

" c Thanks be praised ! ' Master Barnaby," said I, 
as my indefatigable historian arrived at this period ; 
" 4 thanks be praised ! ' as the Countryman says in the 
Play, c I thought we would never ha' got hither, for 
we've had a power of crosses upo' the road/ If you 
do not make the better speed through the next two 
centuries, mine honest friend, you will scarcely allow 
me time to conclude your narrative by a brief account 
of the New Bridge, and the grand ceremonial of its 
foundation : here's your health, however ; and if contri- 
buting to one's repose be a praiseworthy action, why, 
truly, I'm much your debtor, good Mr. Postern." 

" Rest you merry, Sir," replied he of the sack tankard ; 
" [ see that you're one of the humourists of Old London ; 
and, methinks, you ought to be somewhat grateful to me 
for furnishing you with occasion to be witty; but, to 
speak more seriously, I pray you to recollect that I have 
conducted you through a period of more than six hun- 
dred years, and that too in a history -of which the 
materials are to be sought for, and extracted, from a 
vast multitude of very opposite sources. And even when 
we have found them, you know, my good Mr. Barbican, 
that they resemble those grains of gold which the wander- 
ing Bohemians recover from the sand ; of little or no 
value till collected into a mass, and even then surprising 
by their insignificance. Surely, he is to be pitied, who 
becomes the historian of a subject equally ancient, inte- 
resting, hopeless, and unknown." 

" A very good reason," answered I, "for not becoming 
one at all, Master Barnaby ; Odzooks ! do men write 
your thick folios, only because they know nothing of the 
matter ? But you have no such excuse, for you quote 
me a dozen authors to tell of one event ; and then there's 
such ' fending and proving' about a handful of years, that 



1605.] LONDON BRIDGE. 27l 

where subjects are lacking, ' fore George, you seem to me 
to create them.'' 

" Well, Sir, well," resumed the mild old man, u your 
wit becomes you ; but as we may never meet again, I 
would fain pour into your bosom all the little knowledge 
which I possess upon this point ; and so we will pass on 
to the Chronicles of London Bridge in the seventeenth 
century. 

" The inhuman cruelties which Queen Mary, Bishop 
Bonner, and others of their faith, practised upon the 
Protestants, may reasonably be supposed to have so em- 
bittered their minds, as to have excited in them no slight 
feelings of revenge, when, in their turn, they came into 
power. Indeed it is difficult to imagine any other cause 
for the severities which they practised, or for the laws 
which were enacted to authorise them. The principal 
of these Statutes, you may remember, were five : one in 
the 27th of Elizabeth, 1585, chapter ii. ? entitled ' An Act 
against Jesuits, Seminary Priests, and other such-like 
disobedient persons ;' and a second passed in her 35th 
year, 1593, chapter ii., and called ' An Act for restraining 
Popish Recusants to some certain place of abode.' Under 
King James I., were introduced three others strengthen- 
ing and confirming the former, the first of which was made 
in the 1st year of his reign, 1604, chapter iv., being " An 
Act for the due execution of the Statutes against Jesuits, 
Seminary Priests, Recusants, &c/ ; and in his third year, 
1606, were passed two others, see chapters iv. and v., 
namely, An Act for the better discovering and repressing 
of Popish Recusants ;' and ' An Act to prevent and avoid 
dangers which grow by Popish Recusants.' History, 
Master Barbican, blushes to record what cruelties were 
perpetrated under the sanction of those laws ; and I should 
have omitted all notice of them, but that they are so inter- 
woven with several anecdotes of London Bridge. My 
authority is a work, entitled c The Catholic Book of 
Martyrs, or a true British Martyrology, commencing with 



272 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the Reformation f by the Right Rev. Richard Challoner, 
Bishop of Debora ; of which the new edition of 1825 is a 
singularly curious book. He states from Stow, in vol. ii., 
p. 9, that in 1578, February 3rd, John Nelson, a Priest, 
was executed at Tyburn, for denying the Queens 
supremacy, and that his head was erected on London 
Bridge ; whilst on p. 74, is a similar relation of another 
Priest named James Fenn ; but I proceed to notice a much 
more remarkable instance. In the year 1605, Father 
Henry Garnet, the Principal of the English Jesuits, was 
taken up and imprisoned in the Tower, for being a party 
concerned in the famous Gunpowder Plot : after many 
examinations, he acknowledged that Father Greenway, a 
Jesuit, had communicated it to him under the seal of 
confession from Catesby, the chief of the conspirators. 
Both the Priests were struck with horror at the design, 
and vainly endeavoured to prevent its execution. Green- 
way fled beyond the seas, but Father Garnet was taken, 
condemned, and executed, in St. Paul's Church Yard, on 
the 3rd of May, the Anniversary of the Invention or 
Finding of the Holy Cross by the Empress Helena, the 
Mother of Constantine. 4 His head,' says Bishop Chal- 
loner, in his ' Catholic Book of Martyrs,' vol. hi., p. ii., 
' was fixed on London Bridge, and it was much remarked, 
that his countenance, which was always venerable, retain- 
ed, for above twenty days, the same lively colour which 
it had during life, which drew all London to the spectacle, 
and was interpreted as a testimony of his innocence ; as 
was also an image of him wonderfully formed on an ear 
of straw, on which a drop of his blood had fallen.' Dr. 
Challoner gives his authorities for this narrative at its 
commencement. 

" But to pass from these unhappy subjects to the story 
of London Bridge, and the River Thames, let me next 
observe that the year 1608 was remarkable for a great frost 
near this edifice, of which we have a very curious account 
in Edmond Howe's ' Continuation of the Abridgement of 



1608.] LONDON BRIDGE. 273 

Stow's English Chronicle/ London, 1611, duodecimo, 
p. 481 ; from which take the following extract. ' The 
8th of December began a hard frost, and continued vntill 
the loth of the same, and then thawed : and the 22nd 
of December it began againe to freeze violently, so as 
diners persons went halfe way ouer the Thames vpon 
the ice : and the 30th of December, at euery ebbe, many 
people went quite ouer the Thames in diuers places, 
and so continued from that day \mtill the third of 
January : the people passed daily betweene London and 
the Bankside at euery halfe ebbe, for the floud remoued 
the ice and forced the people daily to tread new paths, 
except onely betweene Lambeth and the ferry at West- 
minster, the which, by incessant treading, became very 
firm and free passage, vntill the great thaw : and from 
Sunday, the tenth of January, vntill the fifteenth of the 
same, the frost grew so extreme, as the ice became firme, 
and remoued not, and then all sorts of men, women, and 
children, went boldly upon the ice in most parts ; some 
shot at prickes, others bowled and danced, with other 
variable pastimes ; by reason of which concourse of 
people, there were many that set vp boothes and stand- 
ings vpon the ice, as fruit-sellers, victuallers, that sold 
beere and wine, shoomakers, and a barbers tent, &c/ 
He adds, that all these had fires ; that the frost killed all 
the artichokes in the gardens about London ; and that 
the ice lasted until the afternoon of the 2nd of February, 
when ' it was quite dissolued and clean gon.' There is a 
very rare tract, containing an account of this frost, 
mentioned by Gough in his ' British Topography,' vol. i. 
p. 731, which has a wood-cut representation of it, with 
London Bridge in the distance : and is entitled ' Cold 
doings in London, except it be at the Lottery: with 
newes out of the Country. A familier talk, between a 
Countryman and a Citizen, touching this terrible Frost, 
and the Great Lottery, and the effect of them/ London, 
1608, 4to. I may observe that the Lottery was then 



274 €H110NICLES of [a. d. 

drawn at St. Paufs, the prizes were all of plate, the 
highest being 150/., and the price of each ticket was one 
shilling only. The same year of 1608 was also memor- 
able for two tides flowing at London Bridge, on Sunday, 
the 19th of February. Edmond Howes records it in his 
Continuation of Stow's ' Annals/ p. 893, and states that 
' when it should haue beene dead low water at London 
Bridge, quite contrary to course it was then high water ; 
and, presently, it ebbed almost halfe an houre, the 
quantitie of a foote, and then sodainly it flowed againe 
almost two foote higher than it did before, and then 
ebbed againe vntill it came neere the right course, so as 
the next fioud began, in a manner, as it should, and kept 
his due course in all respects as if there had beene no 
shifting, nor alteration of tydes. All this happened 
before twelue of the clocke in the forenoone, the weather 
being indifferent calme ; and the sixt of February, the 
next yeere following-, the Thames againe shifted tydes 
very strangely/ 

u We know not, Mr. Barbican, at what exact period 
London Bridge was first occupied by shops, but in the 
Survey of Bridge-lands which I have already repeated 
to you, it appears very probable that some of the shops 
in the Bridge Street were actually erected on the Bridge. 
Houses with distinguishing signs, however, must have 
been built upon this edifice at a very early period ; for 
the first notice of one, which I can now recollect, is in 
the fire which brake out at the Pannier, at the North 
end of the Bridge in 1504; whilst the next is not older 
than 1619, and occurs in a letter written October the 
6th, by George Herbert, the pious author of the 'Temple,' 
and printed at the end of Izaak Walton's fr Lives/ fourth 
edition, London, 1675, 8vo, p. 340. ' I pray, Sir, there- 
fore/ — says this epistle, — ' cause this inclosed to be 
carried to his brother's house/ — Sir Francis Nethersole, 
—- 4 of his own name, as I think, at the sign of the Pedlar 
and his Pack on London Bridge, for there he assigns me/ 



1619.] LONDON BRIDGE. 275 

Norden, as I have already shewn you, says that this 
place was " furnished with all manner of trades;' and as 
this is rather a curious, though an unexplored portion of 
Bridge story, 1 shall at once lay before you all the 
information which I have collected upon it, under the 
present period of time, since it is infinitely too small to 
be divided into different years. The principal ancient 
residences of the London Booksellers were, St. Paul's 
Church Yard, Little Britain, Paternoster Row, and 
London Bridge; and of books published at the latter 
place let me first exhibit to you some titles, taken from 
that vast collection, which John Bagford made for a 
General History of Printing, preserved with the Harleian 
Manuscripts in the British Museum. The ensuing are 
from No. 5921, pp. o b, 6 a, 7 a, and 9 b. 

" ' The Merchandises of Popish Priests ; or, a Diseouery of the 
Jesuites Trumpery, newly packed in England. Laying open to the 
world how cunningly they cheate and abuse people with their false, 
deceitfull, and counterfeit wares. Written in French, by John 
Chassanion, and truly translated into English. Printed at London, 
for Henry Gosson, and are to be sold at his Shop on London 
Bridge. 1629.' Small 4to. Above the imprint is a rude wood- 
cut of a corded bale, labelled with the words l A Packe of Popish 
Trinkets? and exhibiting a crucifix, rosary, bell, book, taper, a 
chalice signed with the cross, and an Aspergillum for scattering 
holy- water. — ' The Wise Merchant, or the Peerless Pearl ; set 
forth in some meditations, delivered in two Sermons upon Matth. 
xiii. 45, 46. By Thomas Calvert. London. Printed by H. Bell, 
for Charles Tyns, dwelling at the Three Bibles on London Bridge. 
1660.' 8vo. — 'The Seaman's Kalender : by Henry Phillippes, 
Philo-Nauticus. London. Printed by W. G., for Benjamin Hur- 
lock, and are to be sold at his shop over-against St. Magnus Church, 
on London Bridge, near Thames Street. 1672.' Small 4to. — 
1 England's Grievances, in times of Popery. London. Printed for 
Joseph Colly er, and Stephen Foster, and are to be sold at the 
Angel on London Bridge, a little below the Gate, 1679.' Small 4to. 
— ' The Saints' Triumph ; or, the Glory of Saints with Jesus 
Christ. Discoursed in a Divine Ejaculation ; by J(ohn) B(unyan). 
Printed by J. Millet for J. Blare, at the looking Glass on London 
Bridge. 1688.' Small 4to. A rude, but characteristical wood-cut 
portrait of Bunyan is indented in the margin of this title-page. 
We also find one Hugh Astley living « at St. Magnus corner/ 
T2 



27G CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

in 1607 ; and in 1677, R. Northcott kept c the Marririer and 
Anchor upon Fish-street Hill, near London Bridge. 9 " 

" Whilst you are speaking of the Booksellers and 
Tradesmen who lived on old London Bridge, Mr. Pos- 
tern," observed I, as he came to a period, " let me add 
to your account some other circumstances which, at 
various times, and from different sources, I have collected 
illustrative of that subject. The sign of ( the Three 
Bibles 3 seems to have been a very favourite device upon 
that edifice, and, most probably, continued so until the 
houses were removed ; for we trace it into the eighteenth 
century, at which time there were two shops so deno- 
minated ; and one of them also appears to have been 
famous for the sale of a Patent Medicine, as you will 
find from the following particulars communicated to me 
by Mr. John Thomas Smith, Keeper of the Prints and 
Drawings in the British Museum. ' The Mariners 
Jewel ; or, a Pocket Companion for the Ingenious. By 
James Love, Mathematician, The sixth edition, cor- 
rected and enlarged. London. Printed for H. and J. 
Tracy, at the Three Bibles on London Bridge. 1724/ 
Duodecimo. At the end of the volume bearing this 
title, is an advertisement of a medicine, called c The 
Balsam of Chili,' which is succeeded by the following 
curious note. c All persons are desired to beware of a 
pretended Balsam of Chili, which, for about these seven 
years last past, hath been sold, and continues to be sold, 
by Mr. John Stuart, at the Old Three Bibles, as he calls 
his sign, although mine was the sign of the Three Bibles 
twenty years before his. This pretended Balsam sold 
by Mr. Stuart, resembles the true Balsam in colour, and 
is put up in the same bottles ; but has been found to 
differ exceedingly from the true sort by several persons, 
who, through the carelessness of the buyers intrusted, 
have gone to the wrong place. Therefore all persons 
who send, should give strict order to enquire for the 
name Tracy ; for Mr. Stuart's being the very same sign, 



1G19.] LONDON BRIDGE. 277 

it is an easy matter to mistake. All other pretended 
Balsams of Chili, sold elsewhere, are shams and imposi- 
tions ; which may not only be ineffectual, but prove of 
worse consequence. The right sort is to be had of H. 
Tracy, at the Three Bibles on London Bridge, at Is. 6d. 
a bottle, where it hath been sold these forty years/ 
There also appears to have been two Booksellers' shops 
known by the sign of fc the Looking Glass on London 
Bridge ;' for you have already mentioned that ' the Life 
and Death of John Overs' was printed for T. Harris at 
such a sign, in 1744 ; and at the very same time, as well 
as earlier, one T. Hodges was an extensive publisher of 
popular books, 6 at the Looking Glass on London Bridge 
over against St. Magnus Church,' as you will find in the 
title-pages to a multitude of small volumes of that period. 
One of the little tracts to which his name appears, is 
' The whole Life and merry exploits of bold Robin Hood, 
Earl of Huntingdon,' 1737, duodecimo ; and we also 
read the name of S. Crowder and Company, London 
Bridge, attached to ' The Delightful, Princely, and 
Entertaining History of the Gentle Craft ; adorn'd with 
Pictures suitable to each story,' 1760, duodecimo. I 
could easily, Mr. Postern, increase this list of books 
published on London Bridge, from the advertisements 
which continually appeared in the columns of ' The 
Daily Post/ — e The Daily Courant,' and other News- 
papers of the early part of the last century, but I rather 
wish to point out to you the names and signs of some 
other persons dwelling in the same place ; for it seems 
to have been occupied by a variety of trades. Thus, in 
1722, we have John Body, Silversmith, at the White 
Horse on London Bridge ; — Hotham, Bookseller, at the 
Black Boy ; and E. Heme, Milliner, at the Dolphin and 
Comb. The shop-bills of these tradesmen, however, 
from whence w T e generally derive this kind of information, 
are so exceedingly rare, that after a very careful search 



278 CHRONICLES OF [a. P. 

through that extensive collection belonging to the late 
Miss Banks, now preserved in the Print Room of the 
British Museum, I have found only one ! although the 
Portfolios contain many thousands. But what I there 
sought for in vain, has been supplied to me from two 
private sources ; for Henry Smedley, Esq., of Whitehall, 
and Mr. William Upcott, of the London Institution, are 
in possession of impressions of several, of which they have 
kindly permitted me to take the following copies. 

•' 1. A copper- plate shop-bill, card size, having the figure of a 
Roebuck enclosed in a rich architectural square frame, surmounted 
by a shield of arms, 3 roebucks statant regardant, probably a copy 
from the sign of the house. On the lower parts of the frame are 
the date * 1714,' and the initials ' W. O. ; ' beneath which is 
4 William Osborne, Leather -seller ^ at the Roe-buck upon 
London Bridge.' 

" 2. A copper-plate shop-bill, 5 inches by 3J, having, within a 
rich cartouche frame, a pair of embroidered small-clothes and a 
glove ; beneath is written * Walter Watkins, Breeches Maker, 
Leather Seller, and Glover, at the Sign of the Breeches and 
Glove, on London Bridge, Facing Tooley Street, Sells all 
sorts Leather Breeches, Leather, and Gloves, Wholesale and 
Retail, at reasonable rates.' 

"3. The copper-plate head of a bill, 'London 17. . Bought 
of Churcher and Christie, Leather Sellers and Breeches 
Makers, at the Lamb and Breeches, London Bridge.' 

u 4. Copper- plate shop-bill, 5|- inches by 3f, with the device 
of a Crown and Anchor, in a square cartouche frame ; below 
which appears ( James Brooke, Stationer, at yl Anchor and 
Crown, near the Square, on London Bridge, sells all sorts of 
Books for Accounts, Stampt Paper, and Parchm.^ s , variety 
of Paper Hangings for Rooms, and all sorts of Stationery 
Wares, Wholesale and Retail-, at reasonable rates.' 

il 5. A small copper-plate Tobacco -paper, with a coarse and 
rude engraving of a Negro smoking, and holding a roll of tobacco ; 
above his head a crown, two ships in full sail behind, and the sun 
issuing from the right hand corner above. In the fore-ground are 
four smaller Negroes planting and packing tobacco, and beneath is 
written ' Iohn Winkley, Tobacconist, near y e Bridge, In the 
Burrough Southwark, London.' 

"6. An elegant ornamental copper- plate shop-bill, 5-f inches 
by 4-|, with an allegorical design of two figures representing Genius 



16] 9.] LONDON BRIDGE. 279 

and Prudence, with books and articles of stationery below ; and 
between them, a circle, with the words, c John Benskin, Sta- 
tioner, at y e Bible and Star on y e Bridge, London.' 

** 7. A copper-plate shop-bill, 6 inches by 3J, with a rich 
cartouche shield, enclosing three tufts of hair curled and tied ; 
beneath is written, ' John Allan, at the Locks of Hair on 
London Bridge. Sells all sorts of Hair Curled or Uncurled, 
Bags, Roses, Cauls, Ribbons, Weaving, Sewing Silk, Cards 
and Blocks. With all goods made use of by Peruke Makers 
at the Lowest Prices. ' 

" One of the most eminent and well-known tradesmen 
on London Bridge, however, was William Herbert, the 
Print-seller, and Editor of Joseph Ames's ' Typographi- 
cal Antiquities;' who, upon his return from India, 
having probably acquired a considerable knowledge of 
the relative situations of the coasts, countries, and rivers, 
which he had seen and surveyed abroad, thought him- 
self qualified to undertake the occupation of an En- 
graver, and Publisher, of Maps and Charts. With this 
view he took a house upon London Bridge, and continued 
in it, until the houses were taken down in 1757-58; 
when he removed to Leadenhall Street, and thence to 
Goulston Square, White-Chape] . The very first night 
which Mr. Herbert spent in his house on London Bridge, 
there was a dreadful fire in some part of the metropolis, 
on the banks of the Thames ; which, with several suc- 
ceeding ones, suggested to him the plan of a floating 
fire-engine. He proposed it to Captain Hill, of the 
Royal Exchange Assurance, who told him that c there 
must be a fire every now and then for the benefit of the 
insurance : * Herbert, however, published his proposal in 
the Gazetteer, and it was soon after adopted. You will 
find these anecdotes originally printed in the ' Gentle- 
man's Magazine/ for 1795, vol. Ixv. pt. i. p. 262 ; sup- 
posed to have been written by Mr. Gough ; whence they 
were incorporated into the Memoirs of Herbert, attached 
to the Rev. Dr. Dibdin s edition of the ' Typographical 
Antiquities/ vol. i., London, 1810, 4to, p. 76. The 
pretty copper-plate shop-bill of Master Herbert is yet 



280 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

preserved in a most beautiful state, in the vast collection 
of the late Miss Banks, to which I have already alluded, 
vol. iii., class Print-sellers. It bears the date of 1749, 
and represents a country view, surrounded by columns, 
vases, temples, statues, &c. On the left are two figures, 
one in the full dress of the time, and the other in a 
morning dress, exhibiting a portrait to him. Round the 
whole print is a rich ancient frame, ornamented with 
flowers, laurel branches, busts, books, instruments, scrolls, 
and a globe standing in the centre beneath. At the top 
is an eagle supporting a large robe, or piece of drapery, 
which hangs half way down, and on which the following 
words are inscribed in ornamental writing. ' Great 
variety of English Maps and Prints, plain and colour d. 
Also French, and other Foreign Prints, chiefly collected 
from the works of the most celebrated artists. Sold by 
William Herbert, at the Golden Globe, under the Piazzas 
on London Bridge. N. B. Prints neatly framed and 
glazed for Exportation, Rooms and Staircases fitted up in 
the modern or Indian taste! 

" Another source whence we derive much of our 
information concerning the old shopkeepers of London, 
and, of course, those of London Bridge, is to be found in 
that species of unauthorised coin commonly known by 
the name of Tradesmen's Tokens. For many centuries, 
you remember, gold and silver money only w r as regu- 
larly current in this kingdom ; for, though the earliest 
inhabitants of Britain probably used copper, there was 
none coined of an authorised mintage, until the time of 
Charles II. The silver pence, and even halfpence, 
which were previously current, were of so minute a size, 
that, as an eminent author on this subject observes, c a 
dozen of them might be in a man's pocket, and yet not 
be discovered without a good magnifying glass ; ' and, 
consequently, they were not adapted to any very exten- 
sive circulation. To remedy this, arid to provide change 
for the increase of retail trade 3 these Tokens were 



1619.] LONDON BRIDGE. 281 

originally issued ; being pieces of coin of a low value, 
to pass between Grocers, Bakers, Vintners, &c, by which 
the lower classes might have smaller quantities of goods 
than they would otherwise be obliged to procure. These 
Tokens were first issued about the latter end of the 
reign of Henry VII., or the beginning of the following 
one, when they were made of lead, tin, latten, and even 
of leather. In the time of Elizabeth their numbers 
increased; and, though the silver farthings, coined by 
James I. and Charles I., for a while supplied the want 
of small coins, yet, in the Civil Wars, the private Tokens 
multiplied to a great excess, and every petty tradesman 
had his pledges for a halfpenny payable in silver, or its 
value in goods, to bearer upon demand, at his shop : 
upon the credit of which it therefore depended, whether 
they should circulate through one or two streets, a whole 
town, or to some little distance in the country round. 
The London Gazettes for July the 25th, 1672, and Fe- 
bruary the 23rd, 1673, contained advertisements against 
these Tokens, and of the issuing of the first national 
copper coinage, referring to ' the Farthing-Office in 
Fen-Church Street,' as the place of exchange. Pre- 
viously, however, to the issue of a lawful coinage in 
1797, the debased state of the copper money gave rise to 
another general striking of Provincial and Tradesmen s 
Tokens, which was commenced by the famous Anglesey 
Penny in 1784. Such, then, is a general view of the 
nature and history of these corns, and we now proceed 
to notice those which record for us some particulars of 
London Bridge. 

" The general impresses of these Tokens consisted of 
the names, residences, initials, and signs of their owners, 
by whom they were issued and paid ; and the quantity 
used in London was so great, that Sir Robert Cotton 
supposed, about 1612, that there were 3000 persons who 
cast leaden Tokens to the amount of 67. annually upon 
the average ; of which they had not one tenth remaining 



282 CHRONICLES OF [a. D» 

at the year's end. Notwithstanding this immense quan- 
tity, we meet with but few relating to London Bridge ; 
and yet, by the experience and kindness of Edward 
Hawkins, Esq., Assistant Keeper of the Coins and 
Medals of the British Museum, and of Mr. M. Young, 
the well-known Dealer in those articles, I am furnished 

with a list and draw- 
ings, of most of those 
which are are known to 
' be extant, and of which 
I shall now give you a 
description. 

*' 1. A Brass Token — Farthing size: Obverse, a Lion ram- 
pant, Legend, — c Joh. Welday. at. y e Lyon,' — Reverse, — 
* on London Bridge. I.W. 1657.' 

"2. A Brass, or base copper Token, — Farthing size: Ob- 
verse, a Sugar Loaf, Legend,-—' Edw. Muns at the Sugar ' — 

i Reverse, * Loaf on London Bridge. 1668. His Halfe- 

penny.' 





"3. A Copper Token, — Farthing size: Obverse,^* Bear 
passant, chained, Legend, — < Abraham Browne, at. y e — Re- 
verse — 'Bridgfoot. Sovthwark. His Half Peny.' 

"4. A Brass, or base Copper Token, — Farthing size: 
Obverse, a Dog, Legend, — ' Joseph Brocket,' — #m^,— 
* Bridgfoot Southwark. j^. * 

"5 A Copper Token, — Farthing size: Obverse, a Bear 
passant, chained, Legend,—' Cornelivs.Cook. at the'— Reverse, 
— ' Beare. at. the. Bridg. fot. c c ^.' 



1G19.] LONDON BRIDGE. 283 

" 6. A Brass Token, — Farthing size: Obverse, a Lion ram- 
pant, Legend, — 'At. the. Whit. Lyon/ — Reverse, — * Neir 
London Bridge. ^.' 

" 7. A Copper Token, — Farthing size: Obverse, Sugar 
loaf, Legend^ — 'Henry. Phillips, at.' -r— Reverse, — ' Bridg. 
Foot. Sovthwabk. hs«' 

" Such, then, are some specimens of the Tradesmen's 
Tokens current on London Bridge ; and though they are 
sufficiently rude in their workmanship, and base in their 
metal, yet, with some collectors, they are of a far greater 
degree of rarity, and of value too, than the handsomest 
modern silver coin you could present them with. You 
will observe, however, that I have noticed those Tokens 
only, on which the Bridge is actually mentioned ; but an 
extensive list of such as were issued in Southwark, will 
be found in Messrs. Manning's and Bray's c History of 
Surrey,' already referred to, vol. iii., App. pp. cxi — cxv. 
Let me add too, that my authorities for these historical 
notices of coins, have been c An Essay on Medals,' by 
John Pinkerton, Lond. 1789, 8vo., vol. i. ; and c Annals 
of the Coinage of Britain,' by the Rev. Rogers Ruding, 
Lond. 1819, 8vo, vol. iii., pp. 127, 319, 324, iv. p. 61. 
I must not, however, conclude these particulars of the 
numismatic reliques of London Bridge, without observing 
to you that there are some Medalets also extant, comme- 
morative of its buildings. Of these coins we find a list in 
James Conder's elegant volumes, entitled ' An Arrange- 
ment of Provincial Coins, Tokens, and Medalets, issued in 
Great Britain, Ireland, and the Colonies, within the last 
twenty years, from the farthing to the penny size. Ips- 
wich, 1798, 8vo. Medalets, you know, Mr. Postern, are 
of that description of coins which were struek by the 
Romans, and used for scattering to the people upon 
solemn occasions : and those of which I am now speaking 
are of the class distinguished by bearing the representa- 
tion of public buildings. In vol. i., pp. 72 and 73, of Mr. 
Conder's work, are mentioned the following Medalets 



284 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

of London Bridge, of the penny size, • executed by P. 
Kempson. 




No. 40. A Bronzed or Copper Medalet : Obverse, a view of a 
Bridge, Legend, — ' London Bridge the first of stone, com- 
pleated 1209/ Legend on the Exergue, — 'The houses on 
the Bridge taken down, and the Bridge repair'd, 1758.' — 
Reverse, a figure of Britannia with spear and shield, seated on a 
rock, holding an olive-branch ;— Legend, indented on a raised 
circle round the field, i British Penny Token.' On the Exergue 
a cypher c P.K.— MDCcxcvII. , Legend on the Edge, — I promise 

TO PAY ON DEMAND THE BEARER ONE PENNY.' 

No. 47. A Bronzed or Copper Medalet : Obverse, an ancient 
gateway,— Legend — ' Bridge Gate as rebuilt 1728.' — Legend 
on the Exergue, l Taken down, 1766. Reverse, an upright 
figure of Justice. Legend and date on the rim as before. 

There were also two Medalets of the Halfpenny size, executed 
by P. Skidmore, of Coppice Row, Clerkenwell, which are likewise 
mentioned by Conder, in vol. i. pp. 103, 106. 

No. 267. A Bronzed or Copper Medalet : Obverse, a view of 
a church, — Legend, — 'St. Magnus London Bridge. 1676.'— -» 
Reverse, a cypher, P,S.C°.,' in a circle, Legend, — c Dedicated 
to collectors of Medals and Coins/ 

No. 300. A Bronzed or Copper Medalet : Obverse-, an ancient 
gateway, — Legend, — ' Bridge Gate, Bt. 1728 :' within the Arch- 
way the name of ' Jacobs.' — Reverse, as before. 

a I am inclined to think, Mr. Barnaby Postern, that 
there have been several traditional mistakes perpetuated, 
as to persons supposed to have dwelt upon London Bridge ; 
for, upon investigating the subject, I can find no authority 



1619.] LONDON BRIDGE. 285 

to support my recording them as inhabitants of that part 
of London. The author of an exceedingly amusing 
work, entitled e Wine and Walnuts/ Lond. 1823, 8vo., 
in which are contained many witty scenes and curious 
conversations of eminent characters in the last century, 
has entitled the seventh chapter of his second volume 
c Old London Bridge ; with portraits of some of its inha- 
bitants/ In this article, on p. 81, we are told that 'Mas- 
ter John Bunyan, one of your heaven-born geniuses, 
resided, for some time, upon London Bridge ;' though I 
cannot discover any such circumstance in either of the 
lives of that good man now extant, though he certainly 
preached, for some time, at a Chapel in Southwark. 
Perhaps, however, this assertion may be explained by 
the following passage from the Preface affixed to the 
Index attached to the first volume of c The labours of 
that eminent servant of Christ Mr. John Bunyan,' Lond. 
1692, folio. It is there stated, that in 1688, ' he pub- 
lished six books, being the time of K. James 2d's. liberty 
of conscience, and was seized with a sweating distemper, 
of which, after his some weeks going about, proved his 
death at his very loving friend's, Mr. Strudwick's, a 
Grocer,' — at the sign of the Star, — at Holborn Bridge, 
London, on August 31/ It is also recorded on the same 
page of ' Wine and Walnuts,' that c Master Abel, the 
great importer of wines, was another of the marvels of 
old London Bridge ; he set up a sign, Thank God I am 
Abel, quoth the wag, and had, in front of his house, the 
sign of a bell/ As I have also heard the same particulars 
repeated elsewhere, it is possible that there may be some 
traditionary authority for them; but upon carefully 
reading over the very rare tracts relating to Mr. Alder- 
man Abel, preserved in the British Museum, I find 
nothing concerning his residence on London Bridge, and I 
should rather imagine, from their statements, that he 
lived at his Ticket or Patent Office, situate in Aldermary 
Church- Yard. The same chapter, however, contains 



286 CHRONICLES OF [a. D 

some authentic notices of Artists who really did live 
upon this venerable edifice. Of these, one of the most 
eminent was Hans Holbein, the great painter of the 
Court of Henry VIII. ; but though we can hardly sup- 
pose that he inhabited the Nonesuch House, yet his actual 
residence here is certified by Lord Orford, in his 6 Anec- 
dotes of Painting,' vide his ' Works/ edit. Lond. 1798 — 
1822, 4to., vol. iii. p. 72, note. ' The father of the Lord 
Treasurer Oxford' — says the noble author in that place, 
— ' passing over London Bridge, was caught in a shower; 
and stepping into a goldsmith's shop for shelter, he found 
there a picture of Holbein, — who had lived in that house, 
— and his family. He offered the goldsmith 100/. for it, 
who consented to let him have it, but desired first to show 
it to some persons. Immediately after, happened the fire 
of London, and the picture was destroyed/ Another 
famous Artist of London Bridge, who is mentioned in 
both the works which I last cited, was Peter Monamy ; 
so excellent a painter of marine subjects, as to be consi- 
dered but little inferior to Vandevelde himself. Lord 
Orford says of him, at p. 421, that he c received his first 
rudiments of drawing from a sign and house-painter on 
London Bridge / — and that c the shallow waves, that 
rolled under his window, taught young Monamy w^hat 
his master could not teach him, and fitted him to paint 
the turbulence of the ocean/ This artist died at West- 
minster in 1749. We are also informed, by Edward 
Edwards, in his ' Continuation of Walpole's Anecdotes 
of Painting/ Lond. 1808, 4to,, p. 214, that Dominic 
Serres, the Marine Painter, who died in 1793, also once 
kept a shop upon London Bridge. To these celebrated 
men, the author of ' Wine and Walnuts' adds Jack 
Laguerre, the Engraver, ' a great humourist, wit, singer, 
player, caricaturist, mimic, and a good scene-painter/ son 
to that Louis, who painted staircases and saloons, where, 
as Pope says, ; Sprawl the saints of Verrio and Laguerre.' 
His residence, according to our lively author, who states 



1619.] LONDON BRIDGE. 287 

that he received his information from ' old Dr. Monsey 
and others,' was on the first floor of the dwelling of a 
waggish bookseller, and author of all- work, named Cris- 
pin Tucker ; the owner of half-a-shop on the East side, 
under the Southern gate. The artist's studio was, chiefly, 
in a bow-windowed back room, which projected over the 
Thames, and trembled at every half- ebb tide ; in which 
Hogarth had resided in his early life, when he engraved 
for old John Bowles, of the Black Horse in Cornhill. It 
resembled, we are told, on p. 135 of the work and volume 
which I have already quoted, one of the alchemist's 
laboratories from the pencil of the elder Teniers. It was 
4 a complete smoke-stained confusionary, with a German- 
stove, crucibles, pipkins, nests of drawers, with rings of 
twine to pull them out ; here a box of asphaltum, there 
glass -stoppered bottles, varnishes, dabbers, gravers, etch- 
ing-tools, walls of wax, obsolete copper-plates, many 
engraved on both sides, caricatures, and poetry scribbled 
over the walls ; a pallet hung up as an heir-loom, the 
colours dry upon it, hard as stone ; an easel; all the mul- 
tifarious arcanalia of engraving, and, lastly, a Printing- 
press !' This curious picture is also from the information 
of Dr. Monsey, but I cannot produce you any other 
authority for its truth ; and I shall likewise, therefore, 
leave you to read, and judge for yourself, the amusing 
account of Dean Swift's and Pope's visits and conversa- 
tions with Crispin Tucker, of London Bridge, in chapters 
viii. and ix. of the work I have referred to. 

" It was, however, not only the ordinary buildings 
in the Bridge-street, which were formerly occupied as 
shops and warehouses, but even the Chapel of St. Thomas, 
which, in its later years, was called Chapel- House, and 
the Nonesuch- House, were used for similar purposes 
before they were taken down. Mr. John Nichols, in his 
6 Literary Anecdotes,' tells us, vol. vi. pt. i. p. 402, note, 
on the authority of Dr. Ducarel, that ' the house over 
the Chapel belonged to Mr. Baldwin, Haberdasher, who 



288 CHRONICLES OF C A ' D# 

was born there; and when, at seventy-one, he was 
ordered to go to Chislehurst for a change of air, he 
could not sleep In the country, for want of the noise,' — 
the roaring and rushing of the tide beneath the Bridge, 
• — ' he had been always used to hear/ My good friend, 
Mr. J. T. Smith, too, in his very interesting volume of 
the ' Ancient Topography of London,' which you have 
already quoted, p. 26, has also the following observations 
concerning the modern use of this Chapel. i By the 
Morning Advertiser/ says he, c for April 26th, 1708, it 
appears that Aldermen Gill and Wright had been in 
partnership upwards of fifty years ; and that their shop 
stood on the centre of London Bridge, and their ware- 
house for paper was directly under it, which was a 
Chapel for divine service, in one of the old arches ; and, 
long within legal memory, the service was performed 
every sabbath and Saint's day. Although the floor was 
always, at high-water mark, from ten to twelve feet 
under the surface ; yet such was the excellency of the 
materials and the masonry, that not the least damp, or 
leak, ever happened, and the paper was kept as safe and 
dry as it would have been in a garret.' In that ' Survey 
of the Cities of London and Westminster,' printed in 
1734, and purporting to have been compiled by Robert 
Seymour, Esq., but which was in reality the production 
of the Rev. John Motley, the famous collector of Joe 
Miller's Jests, it is stated in vol. i. book i., p. 48, that at 
that time one side of the Nonesuch House was inhabited 
by Mr. Bray, a Stationer, and the other by Mr. West, a 
Dry- Salter. So much then, Mr. Barnaby, for the few 
anecdotes which I have been able to collect of the 
dwellings and inhabitants of old London Bridge." 

" And a very fair Memorial too, Master Geoffrey," 
answered the Antiquary, " especially when we consider 
the extreme difficulty of procuring such information as 
this is : but, to carry on our history, I must now enter 
upon a less amusing subject; the summary of the Bridge 



1633.] LONDON BRIDGE. 289 

Accounts for the years 1624 and 1625, taken from the 
printed sheet which I have so often cited. ' 1624. To 
John Langley, and Richard Foxe, Bridge-Masters, half 
a years fee at our Lady- day, 50/.: and for the other half 
year augmented by order of the Court of Aldermen, 
661. Ss. 4d., and for their Liveries, &c. 6L Total 122/. 
8$. 4d. Rental 2054/. 4s. 2d.— 1625. To the said 
Bridge-Masters, 133/. 6s. 8d, Liveries, &c. 61. Total 
to each of them, 69/. 3*. M. Rental, 2054/. 4s. 2d! 
These notices of the prosperity of this edifice, conduct us 
down to the time when so much of its glory was lost in 
devastating flames and mouldering ruins. 

The year 1632-33 must be ever memorable in the 
history of London Bridge: for scarcely, in the awful 
conflagration which consumed almost the whole City, 
did our brave old edifice suffer so severely. And now, 
Mr. Barbican, you must forgive me, if I be a little prolix 
in describing that desolating fire; since it not only 
destroyed more than a third part of the Bridge Houses, 
but, at one time, its ravages were feared even in the City 
itself. I shall commence my account, then, by reminding 
you that Richard Bloome, one of Stow's continuators, on 
p. 61 of his ' Survey/ thus speaks of the calamity. ; On 
the 13th day of February, between eleven and twelve at 
night, there happened in the house of one Briggs, a 
Needle-maker, near St. Magnus Church, at the North 
end of the Bridge, by the carelessness of a Maid- Servant 
setting a tub of hot sea-coal ashes under a pair of stairs, 
a sad and lamentable fire, w T hich consumed all the build- 
ings before eight of the clock the next morning, from 
the North end of the Bridge to the first vacancy on both 
sides, containing forty- two houses; water then being 
very scarce, the Thames being almost frozen over. 
Beneath, in the vaults and cellars, the fire remained 
glowing and burning a whole week after/ 

" There are not wanting several general views of 
London taken before this fire, by which we are made 



290 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

acquainted with those extensive piles of dwellings it 
destroyed; several of which I have already mentioned 
to you. Another also, which is most excellent and rare, 
is that entitled in Latin, 6 London the most flourishing- 
City of Britain, and the most celebrated emporium of 
the whole world/ It was engraven by John Visscher in 
1616, and published in Holland, c by Jud. Hondius at 
the sign of the Watchful Dog;' a four-sheet print 
measuring 7 feet 1^ inch by 1 foot 4 J inches, with an 
English description beneath it/ 4 A Capital View,' adds 
Gough, in his ' British Topography,' alreaded cited, vol. i. 
p. 749, ' the plates destroyed in Holland about twenty 
years ago. T. Davies sold the only impression of it to 
the King for ten guineas/ There is, likewise, a varia- 
tion of this view, without a date, having eight Latin 
verses at either corner, with the name of ' Ludovicus 
Hondius Lusitt/ It is, says Mr. J. T. Smith, in his 
'Ancient Topography of London/ p. 25, ' extremely well 
executed, and exhibits a wind-mill standing in the 
Strand, very near where the New Church is now erected; 
and another above the Water-works at Queenhithe.' 
He considers it as earlier than the productions of Hollar, 
from the circumstance that the Palace of Whitehall 
appears in its original state, before the Banqueting House 
and York and Somerset Water gates were erected by 
Inigo Jones. It is also shown to be a view of the time 
of King James I., by a royal procession being introduced 
on the water, in which the royal barge is surmounted by 
the thistle. London Bridge forms a very large and 
important feature in this engraving ; and I have been 
informed, that the edifice alone was copied in quarto, for 
the work entitled ; London before the Great Fire ; ' but, 
as that publication stopped with the second number, it 
was never exhibited for sale. 

" Of the very curious print by Visscher, however, — 
and I must not forget to observe that a fine impression 
of it is in the possession of John Dem% Esq. — there 



1633.] LONDON BRIDGE. 291 

was also an imitation of the same size, but somewhat 
inferior, called, from the place where it was engraven 
' the Venetian copy of Visscher s view/ It is, like its 
prototype, entitled in Latin, ' London the most flourish- 
ing City in Britain; &c. ; to which is added, ' Printed in 
Venice, by Nicolo Misserini, 1629, Franco Valegio fecit:' 
it also contains a Latin dedication, and a description in 
Italian. There is an impression, probably, of this latter 
print, preserved in volume xiii. of the famous illustrated 
Pennant's London, bequeathed by the late Charles Crowle, 
Esq., to the British Museum ; but all the inscriptions 
have been cruelly cut away, and the print itself doubled 
in numerous folds, to make it fit to the size of the volume ! 
This engraving, however, bears the name of Rombout 




Van den Hoege, and shows us, with great minuteness, on 
rather a large scale ? the Group op Buildings on Lon- 

u2 



292 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

don Bridge, burned down in 1632-33, which extended 
to the first opening, and which, from the very appear- 
ance which they present, must have contained a consi- 
derable number of inhabitants; but of the fire itself, 
and of all the distressing events attending it, I am about 
to give you a very particular and interesting account, 
from the pen of an eye-witness of the conflagration. 
This narrative is contained in a coarse paper Manuscript 
volume, of a small quarto size, written in the print-hand 
of the 17th century, with some lines of faded red ink and 
chalk interspersed. The volume contains 517 pages in 
all, and is entitled i A Record of the Mercies of God ; or, 
a Thankefull Remembrance;' it being a collection, or 
journal, of remarkable providences and reflections, made 
by one Nehemiah Wellington, a Puritan Citizen and 
Turner, who lived in Little East- cheap, and who was 
evidently a friend of Burton and Bastwick, he having 
been several times examined concerning them before the 
Court of Star- Chamber. In this most singular record 
then, at pp. 479 — 488, is an article entitled ' Of the great 
fire vpon the Bridge ;' preceded by Mottoes from Psalms 
lxvi. 5 ; Ixxi. 17 ; cxi. 2 ; Isaiah xlv. 7 ; and Amosiii. 6 ; 
which runs in the following terms. 

"' 1633. It is the boimden dutie of vs all that haue heene 
the "beholders of the wonderfull workes of the Lord our God, his 
mercyes and iudgements shewed heretofore ; and now of late of a 
fearefull fire, wee should not forgett itt ourselues, and we should 
declare it to all others, euen to y e generations to come. — On the 
xi. day of February (being Monday, 1633) began, by God's iusthand, 
a fearefull fire in the house of one Mr. Iohn Brigges, neere tenn 
of the clocke att night, it burnt down his house and the next house, 
with all the goods that were in them ; and, as I heere, that Briggs, 
his wife, and childe, escaped with their Hues very hardly, hauing 
nothing on their bodies but their shurt and smoke : and the fire 
burnt so fearcely, that itt could not be quenched till it had burnt 
downe all the nouses on both sides of the way, from S. Magnes 
Church to the first open place. And although there was water 
enough very neere, yet they could not safely come at it, but all the 
conduittes neere were opened, and the pipes that carried watter 
through the streets were cutt open, and the watter swept down with 



1633.] LONDON BRIDGE. 293 

broomes with helpe enough ; but it was the will of God it should 
not preuaile. And the hand of God was the more seene in this, 
in as much as no meanes would prosper. For the 3 Engines, 
which are such excellent things, that nothing that euer was deuised 
could do so much good, yet none of these did prosper, for they 
were all broken, and the tide was verie low that they could get no 
watter ; and the pipes that were cutt yeilded but littel watter. Some 
ladders were broke to the hurt of many, for some had their legges 
broke, some had their armes, and some their ribbes broken, and 
many lost their liues. This fire burnt fiercely #11 night, and part 
of the next day (for my man was there about twelue a cloke, and 
he said he did see the fardest house on fire) till all was burnt and 
pulled downe to the ground. Yet the timber, and wood, and coales 
in the sellers, could not be quenched all that weeke, till the Tues- 
day following, in the afternoon, the xix of February, for I was there 
then my selfe, and had a liue cole of fire in my hand, and burnt 
my finger with it. Notwithstanding there were as many night and 
day as could labour one by another to carry away timber, and 
brickes, and tiles, and rubbish cast downe into the liters. So that 
on Wensday the Bridge was cleared that passengers might goe ouer.' 

11 'At the beginning of this fire, as I lay in my bed and heard 
y e sweeping of the channels and crying for water, water, I arose 
about one of the cloke, and looked downe Fish-street-hill, and did 
behold such a fearfull and dreadfull fire vaunting it selfe ouer the tops 
of houses, like a Captaine florishing and displaying his banner ; and 
seeing so much meanes and so little good, it did make me thinke 
of that fire which the Lord threateneth against Ierusalem, for the 
breach of his Sabbath day. He saith thus : ' But if ye will not 
here me to sanctifie the Sabbath day, and to beare no burden, nor 
to go through y e gates of Ierusalem in the Sabbath day, then will 
I kindle a fire in y e gates there, and it shall deuoure the palaces of 
Ierusalem, and it shall not be quenched.' Iere. xvii. 27. 

" ' I did heere that on the other side of y e Bridge, the Bruers 
brought abundance of watter in vessells on their draies, which did, 
with the blissing of God, much good ; and this mircie of God I 
thought on, that there was but littel wind; for had y e wind bin as 
high as it was a weeke before, I thinke it would have indangered 
y e most part of the Citie ; for in Thames Street there is much 
pitch, tarre, rosen, and oyle, in their houses : Therefore, as God 
remembers mercy in iustice, let us remember thankefullnes in 
sorrow. l Therefore will I praise the Lord witlr my whole heart, 
and I will speake of all thy marvellous workes;* * for it is of the 
Lord's mercy that wee are not consumed/ Lament, iii. 22. The 
Names, and Trades, and number of the Houses burnt vpon the 
Bridg, heere you may see vnder nethe. — 



294 OHRONICLES OF [_A. D. 

"' 1, Mr. William Vyner,— -Haberdasher of smal Wares. 
2. Mr. Iohn Broome, — Hosier. 3. Mr. Arther Lee, — Haber- 
dasher of smal Wares. 4. M ris . Iohane Broome, — Hosier. 
5. Mr. Ralph Panne, — Shewmaker. 6. Mr. Abraham Marten, — 
Haberdasher of Hattes. 7. Mr. Ieremiah Champney, — Hosier. 
8. Mr. John Terrill, — Silke man. 9. Mr. Ellis Midmore, — 
Milliner. 10. Mr. Francis Finch, — Hosier. 11. Mr. Andrewe 
Bouth, — Haberdasher of small Wares. 12. Mr. Samuel Petty, 

—Glouer. 13. Mr. Valentin Beale, — Mercer. 14. M ris 

Chambers, Senior 15. Mr. Ieremiah Chamley, — Silke man. 
16. The Blew Bore, — empti. 17. Mr. Iohn Gouer, — Stiller of 
Strong Waters. 18. Mr. Iohn Wilding, Iunior, — Girdler. 
19. Mr. Daniel Conney,— Silke man. 20. Mr.- Stephen Beale, 
— Lyning Draper. 21. M ris . lane Langham, — Mercer. 22. 
Mr. James Dunkin,— Wolli n g Draper" 23, Mr. Matthew 
Harding, — Salter. 24. Mr. Abraham Chambers, — Haberdasher 
of smal Wares. 25 and 26, — Mr. Lyue Daniel,— Haberdasher 

of Hattes, a double house. 27. M ris . > Brookes, — Glouer. 

28. Mr. Couerley, — Hosier. 29. Mr. Iohn Dransfielde, — 

Grocer. 30. Mr. Newman, emptie. 31. Mr. Edward Warn ett, 
and 32. Mr. Samuel Wood, partoners, — Haberdashers of Small 
Wares. 33. Mr. Iohn Greene, — Haberdasher of Hattes, 34. 
Mr. Heugh Powel, — Haberdasher of Hattes. 35. Mr. Samuel 
Armitage,— Haberdasher of Small Wares. 36. Mr. Iohn 
Sherley, — Haberdasher of Small Wares. 37. Mr. John 
Lawrymore, — Grocer. 38. Mr. Timothy Drake, — Woolling 
Draper. 39. Mr. Iohn Brigges, — Needle-maker. 1 — at whose 
house the fire commenced,—' 40. Mr. Richard Shelbuery, — 

Scriuener. 41. Mr. Edward Greene, — Hosier. 42. Mr. 

Hazard,— the Curate, and 43. Mr. Hewlett,— the Clarke, 

— at S. Magnus Cloyster. 1 

" This narrative has, however, already appeared in 
print in the ' Gentleman's Magazine' for November, 1824, 
pp. 387, 388 ; the extract having been furnished by the 
possessor of the volume, Mr. William Upcott, of the 
London Institution. 

Of the ground-plot of. London Bridge, after the da- 
mage done by this fire, there is yet extant a very curious 
survey, preserved under the care of Mr. Smith, in the 
British Museum. It consists of an unpublished draw- 
ing on parchment, measuring four feet five inches in 
length, by ten inches in breadth ; and it, perhaps, be- 



1633.] LONDON BRIDGE. 295 

longed to Sir Hans Sloane, as it is kept with some other 
fragmenta of his property. In 
this drawing the piers are re- 
presented in a tint of yellow, 
placed upon sterlings of Indian 
ink; and it was executed, as 
I suppose, soon after this fatal 
conflagration, since there is a 
note written in an ancient hand 
attached to the seventh pier from 
the city end, stating that ' the 
Fire burnt to the prickt line, 9 
which is drawn from it; and 
which accords with all the sub- 
sequent views taken of the plat- 
form, and houses on the Bridge. 
" I am next to speak," con- 
tinued my unwearied Historian, 
" of the manner in which this 
terrible destruction of London 
Bridge was repaired : and con- 
cerning this we are informed by 
Richard Bloome, a Continuator 
of Stow, who tells us in his 
c Survey,' voL i. p. 61, that after 
the fire, ' this North End of the 
Bridge lay unbuilt for many 
years, only deal boards were set 
up on both sides, to prevent 
people's falling into the Thames, 
many of which deals were, by 
high winds, oft blown down, 
which made it very dangerous in 
the nights, although there were 
lanthorns and candles hung upon all the cross-beams that 
held the pales together.' We have two views of London 
Bridge, in which the Northern end of it appears in this 




296 CHRONICLES OF [a. B. 

state, but in each of them the temporary erection is quite 
of a different nature ; and it is somewhat singular that 
the writer whom I last cited should positively speak as 
follows, concerning the early restoration of the destroyed 
houses, when there seems no real authority to support 
his assertions. ' For about the year 1645/ — says he, — 
6 the North end of this part last burned began to be 
rebuilt ; and in the year 1646 was finished : the building 
was of timber, very substantial and beautiful, for the 
houses were three stories high, besides the cellars, which 
were within and between the piers. And over the houses 
were stately platforms leaded, with rails and ballusters 
about them, very commodious and pleasant for walking, 
and enjoying so fine a prospect up and down the River ; 
and some had pretty little gardens with arbours. This 
half being finished, the other half was intended to be 
rebuilt answerable to this, which would have been a great 
glory to the Bridge and honour to the City, the street, 
or passage, being twenty feet broad ; whereas the other 
part, at tbe South end, was not above fourteen, and, in 
some places, but twelve/ 

" Now, notwithstanding this particular description of 
these new buildings, neither of the engravings which I 
have alluded to have any indications of them ; although 
one of them was published in 1647, and the other in 
1666. The first of these represents the North end of 
London Bridge, from St. Magnus' Church to the houses 
beyond the first opening, as occupied by a. covered passage 
formed of planks, leaving recesses standing out from the 
main erection, which was supported by buttresses of wood 
fastened to platforms on the outside of the Bridge. 

" We derive this view of the dilapidations of London 
Bridge from a very rare and magnificent print, well 
known to collectors and antiquaries, by the name of the 
' Long Antwerp view of London ; for which, Mr. Geoffrey 
Barbican, if you ever meet with it, you may consider 
twenty guineas as a very moderate price* This famous 



1633.] LONDON BRIDGE. * 297 

engraving is an etching by the matchless Wenceslaus 
Hollar ; it is in seven sheets, measuring two yards and a 
half in length, by 17^- inches in height : it bears a dedica- 
tion to Queen Henrietta Maria, and William Prince of 
Orange, with a copy of Latin verses written by Edward 
Benlowes, Esq. ; and, though it was sold in London, the 
following publication line appears on one side, written in 
Latin : — c Sold at Amsterdam by Cornelius Danckers, in 
Calf Street, at the sign of the Image of Gratitude, in the 
year 1647/ There is, by the way, a pretty fair, but 
smaller,, copy of this view of London and Westminster in 




two sheets, in a series of prints commonly called i Boy- 
dell's Perspectives,' measuring 37^ inches, by 10^ inches, 
signed c R. Benning, del. et sculp./ and entitled c A View 
of London as it w T as in the year 1647/ The publication 
line is, ' Sold by J. Boydell, Engraver, at the Unicorn in 
Cheapside, London, 1756/ You will find both the 
original, and the copy, in. the xiiith and xivth volumes of 
Mr. Crowle's Illustrated Pennant, which I have already 
cited to you ; and the view takes in from above the 
Parliament House at Westminster to beyond St. Cathe- 
rine's ; but the Bridge is the keimelion of the plate, for 
that noble edifice is represented with all its buildings, 
from St. Magnus' Church, down to the South wark Tower, 



298 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

the size of 10 inches in length, with the principal build- 
ings about two inches square. The other view, to which 
I have alluded, was also etched by Hollar, upon two 
sheets measuring 27 inches by A\ : and it consists of two 
prospects, one over the other, on the same plate, the upper 
one representing, c London from St. Mary Overies Steeple 
in South wark, in its flourishing condition before the Fire ;' 
and the lower one entitled, ' Another prospect of the said 
City, taken from the same place, as it appeareth now 
after the said calamity and destruction by fire/ Copies 
of these interesting etchings are, however, neither dear 
nor uncommon ; though, if you would have so fine an 
impression as that in the Print Room of the British Mu- 
seum, you will scarcely procure it under three guineas. 
In the upper of these prospects, the Northern end of 
London Bridge is shown to be a passage fenced by wooden 
palings without any houses, excepting one building, which 
occupies the whole width of the Bridge • having a gate in 
it surmounted by the King's Arms, and standing imme- 
diately before the old Church of St. Magnus. 



" Independently of these views, we have another very 
strong evidence that this part was not built upon even in 
the year 1665, contained in that most interesting and 
curious work, the ' Memoirs and Diary of Samuel Pepys, 
Esq., F.R.S. and Secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns 
of Charles II. and James 11/ Edited by Richard, Lord 



1633.] • LONDON BRIDGE. 299 

Braybrooke, London, 1825, 4to, vol. l.page 388 : where, 
under the date of January 24th, 1665-66, that observant 
journalist has the following entry. ' My Lord/ — Ed- 
ward Montague, Earl of Sandwich, — ' and I, the weather 
being a little fairer, went by water to Deptford ; and the 
wind being again very furious, so as we durst not go by 
water, walked to London round the Bridge, no boat 
being able to stirre ; and, Lord ! what a dirty walk we 
had, and so strong the wind, that in the fields we many 
times could not carry our bodies against it, but were 
driven backwards. It was dangerous to walk the streets, 
the bricks and tiles falling from the houses, that the 
whole streets were covered with them; and whole 
chimneys, nay, whole houses, in two or three places, 
bio wed down. But above all, the pales on London 
Bridge, on both sides, were blown away;' — almost the 
very w r ords, you observe, which I have quoted you from 
Richard Bloome, — c so that we were forced to stoop very 
low, for fear of blowing off the Bridge. We could see 
no boats in the Thames afloat, but what were broke 
loose, and carried through the Bridge, it being ebbing 
water. And the greatest sight of all was, among other 
parcels of ships driven here and there in clusters together, 
one was quite overset, and lay with her masts all along 
in the water, and her keel above water/ The desolation, 
and wintry dullness of this picture, is enough to make 
one shiver even in the Dog- days." 

When the worthy old Chronicler had arrived at the 
conclusion of this narrative, as usual 1 took up the story, 
and began thus : — " This., Mr. Barnaby Postern, was 
indeed a fatal destruction ; and one w r ould imagine that it 
was no such happy event as to cause a jesting ballad to 
be made to commemorate it; but yet, though in the 
following verses there are some discordant circumstances, 
and even the date is at variance with that which you 
have already given, there can be little doubt but that 
they relate to the Fire of which you have now spoken. 



800 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

You will find them printed at the end of a very rare, 
but, at the same time, a very worthless publication, 
entitled, ' The Loves of Hero and Leander, a mock 
Poem : Together with choice Poems and rare pieces of 
drollery, got by heart, and often repeated by divers witty 
Gentlemen and Ladies that use to walke in the New 
Exchange, and at their recreations in Hide Park/ 
London, 1653, 12mo, pp. 44 — 48. There is also another 
edition of 1682 ; but I pray you to remember, that many 
of the fescennine rhymes, some of which would have 
done honour to Hudibras, and many of the witty points 
of this song, are, in that latter copy, most vilely per- 
verted : I shall give it you, therefore, as it stands in the 
former impression. 

Some Christian people all give ear 

Unto the grief of us : 
Caused by the death of three children dear. 

The which it happened thus. 

And eke there befell an accident, 

By fault of a Carpenter's son, 
Who to saw chips his sharp ax-e-lent 

Woe worth the time may Lon 

May London say : Woe worth the Carpenter ! 

And all such block-head fools ; 
Would he were hanged up like a sarpent here 

For meddling with edge tools. 

For into chips there fell a spark, 

Which put out in such flames, 
That it was known into South- wark 

Which lies beyond the Thames. 

For Loe ! the Bridge was wondrous high 

With water underneath : 
O'er which as many fishes fly 

As birds therein do breathe. 

And yet the fire consumed the Brigg, 

Not far from place of landing ; 
And though the building was full big, 

It fell down, — not with standing. 



1633.] LONDON BRIDGE. 301 

And eke into the water fell 

So many pewter dishes, 
That a man might have taken up very well 

Both boil'd and roasted fishes ! 

And thus the Bridge of London Town, 

For building that was sumptuous, 
Was all by fire half burnt down, 

For being too contumptious ! 

Thus you have all but half my song, 

Pray list to what comes ater ; 
For now I have cooVd you with the fire, — 

I'll warm you with the water ! 

I'll tell you what the River's name's 

Where these children did slide — a, 
It was fair London's swiftest Thames, 

Which keeps both time and tide — a. 

All on the tenth of January, 

To the w T onder of much people ; 
*Twas frozen o'er that well 'twould bear 

Almost a country steeple ! 

Three children sliding thereabout, 

Upon a place too thin ; 
That so at last it did fall out 

That they did all fall In. 

A great Lord there was that laid with the King, 
And with the King great wager makes ; 

But when he saw that he could not win 
He sigh'd, — and would have drawn stakes. 

He said it would bear a man for to slide, 

And laid a hundred pound ; 
The King said it would break, and so it did, 

For three children there were drown'd. 

Of which, one's head was from his should — 

ers stricken, — whose name was John ; 
Who then cried out, as loud as he could, 

' Oh Lon-a ! Lon-a ! Lon-don !' 

4 Oh ! tut — tut — turn from thy sinful race !' 

Thus did his speech decay ; 
I wonder that in such a case 

He had no more to say. 



302 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

And thus being drown'd, Alack ! Alack 

The water ran down their throats, 
And stopp'd their breath three hours by the clock, 

Before they could get any boats ! 

Ye parents all that children have, 

And ye that have none yet, 
Preserve your children from the grave, 

And teach thern at home to sit. 

For had these at a sermon been, 

Or else upon dry ground, 
Why then I never would have been seen, 

If that they had been .drown'd ! 

Even as a huntsman ties his dogs, 

For fear they should go fro him ; 
So tye your children with severity's clogs, 
Untie 'em — and you'll undo 'em. 

God bless our noble Parliament, 

And rid them from all fears ; 
God bless all the Commons of this land, 

And God bless — some of the Peers V 

" And now, Sir, I shall, by your favour, say a few 
words with respect to the tune to which these verses 
were formerly sung ; which I am the better enabled to 
do by the researches of a gentleman, to whom, in several 
other particulars of our history, I have been considerably 
indebted. By his information, I shall first inform you, 
that the foregoing Song exists, in its original state, in the 
Pepysian Collection of ballads preserved in Magdalen 
College, Cambridge, vol. ii. p. 146; where it is called 
6 The Lamentation of a bad market, or the drownding 
of three children on the Thames. To the tune of the 
Ladies' Fall. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, 
and J. Clarke/ Now the old verses, entitled ' A Lament- 
able Ballad of the Lady's Fall,' you will find, with some 
account of it prefixed, in Bishop Percy's ' Reliques of 
Ancient English Poetry,' volume iii. book ii. article x. 
p. 187, fourth edition, London, 1794, 8vo ; or, indeed, 
you may consult any edition but the last. From the 
Editor's notice of this latter poem, we learn that it was 



1633. 1 LONDON BRIDGE. 303 

sung to the tune of the verses called ' The Shepherd's 
Slumber ; better known by the first three words of the 
commencing stanza. 

*In pescod time, when hound to home 

Gives eare till buck be kill'd ; 
And little lads with pipes of come, 

Sate keeping beasts a-field.' 

" I have not, Mr. Barnaby, found the musical nota- 
tion of this song, though I am almost inclined to think 
it was sung to the very common tune of ; Flying Fame,' 
so familiar to everybody under the name of < Chevy 
Chace;' for in vol. iv. p. 1, of Tom D'Urfey's collection 
of Songs, called ' Wit and Mirth,' London, 1719, 12mo, 
you may see this very ballad on London Bridge, en- 
titled ' Three children sliding on the Thames. Tune, 
Chevy chace/ Listen then, my good Sir, whilst, with 
my very unmelodious voice, I attempt to give you some 
idea of it ; the music I have alluded to runs thus : — 



Amu ift-%n ^ 



Some Chris-tian peo-ple all give ear, Un- to the grief of us ; Caused 



$rfl ^ [] fl i $-n oiittfe 



by the death of three Chil-dren dear. The which it hap-pened thus.' " 

" Thank ye, thank ye, honest Master Geoffrey Bar- 
bican," said my visitor, as I concluded ; " my thanks to 
you, both for your music and poetry ; for I verily think 
as you do, that the verses which you have repeated 
relate to this conflagration of 1 633, although there was 
the difference of a month between the actual fact, and 
your rhyming record of it. It appears to me, too, as if 
I recognized in the 16th stanza, — where the last words 
of the drowning victim are uttered by his head in broken 
accents, — the original of Gay's description of the death of 



804 CHRONICLES OF [a. P. 

Doll, the Pippin- woman, contained in the 2nd book of 
his ' Trivia ;' since she died in much the same place and 
manner. 

" The rental of the Bridge House was doubtless con- 
siderably lessened by this destructive fire ; but in the 
printed document of the Bridge -Masters' Accounts, there 
is not any notice of the amount of rents for some years 
after it. In 1636, however, we are informed that the 
salaries, horsekeeping, and liveries, of John Potter, and 
David Bourne, the Wardens, amounted to 71/. 3s. 4d. 
each ; and in the following year the rental is stated to 
Irave been only 1836/. 7 s. 6<1, whilst the fees, &c. of 
John Hawes and Noadiah Rawlins amounted to 721. 
In that manuscript treatise on the payment of Tythes, 
which I have mentioned to you as being in the Archi- 
episcopal Library at Lambeth, Cornelius Burgess, the 
then Rector of St. Magnus, observes, that c the best third 
part of the Parish was consumed by the late fire on Lon- 
don Bridge : yet no part of the annual charges lying on 
the Parsonage is abated. And it is yet capable of a 
large improvement, by reason that a good part of it being 
Citty land, provisions have been accordingly made to 
keepe downe the tithes generally throughout the Parish 
to vnreasonable low proportions, some very few houses 
excepted/ According to Newcourt, in his ' Repertorium 
Ecclesiasticum,' vol. i., p. 396, these tythes before this 
conflagration amounted to 109/. for 90 houses, of which 
about 40 houses were destroyed ; though, in the Manu- 
script valuation of 1638, they are reduced to 81/. 12s. Sd. 

u The destruction of London Bridge, however, was 
not allowed to pass without a more appropriate memorial 
than the song which you have repeated ; for in the 
parochial records of the Church adjoining, it is stated, 
that Susanna Chambers, by her. will, dated the 28th day 
of December, 1640, left ' unto the Parson of the Parish 
Church of St. Magnus, on, or near, London Bridge, or 
unto such other preacher of God's word as my said son 



164].] LONDON BRIDGE. 805 

Richard Chambers, his heirs, administrators, and as- 
signees shall yearly appoint, the yearly sum of twenty 
shillings of lawful English money, for a Sermon to he 
preached on the 12th day of February, in every year, 
within the said parish Church of St. Magnus, London 
Bridge, or any other near thereunto, in commemoration 
of God's merciful preservation of the said Church of St. 
Magnus from ruin in the late and terrible fire of London 
Bridge; and also the sum of seventeen shillings and 
sixpence to the poor of that Parish of St. Magnus ; and 
two shillings and sixpence to the clerk and sexton/ 
This gift is mentioned by most of the London Historians ; 
and I would observe to you that I am informed, with 
regard to the present- state of this bequest, that the 
money for the Sermon, the Clerk, and the Sexton, has 
not been claimed within the memory of the oldest inha- 
bitant of the Parish : but that the poor have, ever since, 
duly received their legacy. Whilst I am speaking of St. 
Magnus' Church, I may also remark, that in consequence 
of the dissolution of the Fraternity belonging to it, which 
I have before mentioned, there has been a perpetuity of 
21/. 6s. Sd. paid by the Exchequer ever since the time 
of Queen Mary. 

" In the 43rd vol. of that most extraordinary collec- 
tion of Tracts, which the late excellent King George III. 
presented to the British Museum, there is a pamphlet of 
four leaves commemorating a remarkable How of the 
Thames at London Bridge, the title to which is given by 
Gough in his c British Topography/ vol. i., p. 731 : and 
it bears the same proportion to its contents, as the show- 
cloth of a travelling menagerie does to the actual exhi- 
bition. ' A Strange Wonder, or the Citie's Amazement. 
Being a relation occasioned by a wonderfull and vnusuall 
accident, that happened in the River of Thames, Friday, 
Feb. 4, 1641. There flowing Two Tydes at London 
Bridge, within the space of an houre and a halfe, the 
last comming with such violence and hideous noyse, that 



306 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

it not onely affrighted, but even astonished above 500 
watermen that stood beholding it on both sides the 
Thames. Which latter Tyde rose sixe foote higher then 
the former Tyde had done, to the great admiration of all 
men/ . London, 1461. Small 4to. TJiis tract is subse- 
quently named • True Newes from Heaven/ and the 
author takes occasion, from the event which he records, 
to lament the vices and confusion of his time. The fact 
itself occupies but a small portion of his text ; and he 
relates it thus : — c Fry day, Februarie 4, 1641, it was 
high water at one of the clocke at noone, a time — by 
reason so accommodated for all imployments by water or 
land, — very fit, to afford witnesse of a strange and noto- 
rious accident. After it was full high water, and that it 
flowed its full due time as all Almanacks set downe; 
and water-men, the vnquestionable prognosticators in 
that affaire, with confidence mainetaine it stood a quiet 
still dead water, a full houre and halfe, without moving 
or returning any way never so litle : Yea, the water-men 
flung in stickes to the streame, as near as they could 
guesse, which lay in the water as vpon the earth, without 
moving this way or that. Dishes likewise, and wodden 
buckets, they set a swimming, but it proved a stilling, for 
move they would not any way by force of stream or 
water ; so that it seemed the water was indeed asleepe 
or dead, or had changed or borrowed the stability of the 
earth. The water-men, not content with this evidence, 
would needs make the vtmost of the tryall, that they 
might report with the more boldnesse the truth of the 
matter ; and with more credible confidence they tooke 
their boates and lanched into the streame or very chan- 
nell : but the boates that lay hailed up on the shore 
moved as much, except when they used their oares; 
nay, — a thing worthy the admiration of all men, — they 
rowed under the very arches, tooke up their oares, and 
slept there, or, at least, lay still an houre very neare, 
their boates not so much as moved through any way, 



1642.] LONDON BRIDGE. 337 

either upward or downeward : the water seeming ^s 
plaine, quiet, even, and stable as a pavement under the 
arch, where, if any where in the Thames, there must 
be moving by reason of the narrownesse of the place. 
In this pasture stood the water a whole houre and halfe, 
or rather above, by the testimony of above five hundred 
water-men, on either side the Thames, whom not to 
believe in this case were stupiditie, not discretion. At 
last, when all men expected its ebb, being filled with 
amazement that it stood so long as hath been delivered, 
behold a greater wonder, a new Tyde comes in ! A new 
Tyde with a witnesse, you might easily take notice of 
him ; so lowde he roared, that the noise was guessed to 
be about Greenwich when it was heard so, not onely 
clearly, but fearfully to the Bridge ; and up he comes 
tumbling, roaring, and foaming in that furious manner, 
that it was horror unto all that beheld it. And as it 
gave sufficient notice to the eare of its comming, so it 
left sufficient satisfaction to the eye that it was now 
come ; having raised the water foure foote higher then 
the first Tyde had done, foure foote by rule ! as by, 
evident measure did appear, and presently ebbed in as 
hasty, confused, unaccustomed manner. See here, 
Reader ! a wonder, that — ail things considered, — the 
oldest man never saw or heard of the like/ 

" Lord Clarendon, in his ' History of the Rebellion/ 
vol. i., part ii., book iv. p. 521, Oxford, 1819, 8vo., states 
that when John Hampden and the four other members of 
Parliament were accused of High Treason, and were, by 
their own party, brought back in triumph from the City, 
January 11, 1841-42, ' from London-Bridge to Westmin- 
ster, the Thames was guarded with above a hundred 
lighters and long-boats, laden with small pieces of ord- 
nance, and dressed up with waistclothes and streamers, as 
ready for fight/ These forces, together with the City 
Trained-bands under Major General Skippon, were not 
less to honour, than to defend, the return of the accused 
x2 



808 CHRONICLES OF [a. I?, 

Members. The same noble Historian tells us farther, in 
the same volume and part, book v. p. 661, that about the 
end of March in the same year, the Justices, and princi- 
pal gentlemen of the county of Kent, prepared a Petition 
to the two Houses of Parliament, that the Militia might 
not be otherwise exercised hi that County than according 
to Law, and that the Common Prayer Book might still 
be observed. This was construed by the Parliament into 
a commotion in "Kent; the Earl of Bristol and Judge 
Mallet were committed to the Tower only for having 
seen it ; and strong guards were placed at London Bridge, 
■where the petitioners approaching the City were dis- 
armed, and forced to return, and only a very few permitted 
to proceed with the petition to Westminster. 

" That it w T as the unhappy custom, even late in the 
seventeenth century, to erect heads over the South Gate 
on London Bridge, we have, alas ! too many proofs ; 
though, indeed, it seems to have been only the case with 
such as were considered traitors, as were those unfortu- 
nate Romish Priests, executed under the Statutes of Eli- 
zabeth and James I. When Bishop Challoaer is speak- 
ing, in his work already cited, vol. iii., p. 112, of the 
death of Bartholomew Roe, a Priest of the Order of St. 
Benedict, in January, 1642, he states that, on the morn- 
ing of his execution, he exhorted the Catholics who were 
present at his Mass in the prison, and desired them ' that 
as often as in passing through the City, they should see 
that hand of his fixed on one of the Gates, or in crossing 
the water, should see his head on London Bridge, they 
would remember those lessons which he had preached to 
them, of the importance of holding fast the Catholic 
faith, and of leading a Christian and holy life. 1 In 
October, 1642, the head of Thomas Bullaker, a Priest of 
the Order of St. Francis, was also set up on London 
Bridge. See Bishop Challoner, p. 132, in the same 
volume : and another unhappy instance of a similar 
execution is to be found in Dr. Challoner's life of Henry 



2642-.] LONDON BRIDGE. 309 

Heath, a Father of the order of St. Francis, contained on 
pp. 141, 143, of the same volume of his work. Having 
left Douay and landed in England, this Priest travelled 
to the metropolis in the greatest poverty. c At London 
he arrives wearied, as well he might, having travelled 
barefoot forty miles that day, and it being the Winter 
season. It is now time to take up his quarters, and 
give some little rest and refreshment to the body. But 
how shall this be done, for money fie has none, nor 
acquaintance % however, he ventures to call at the Star 
Inn, near London Bridge, but the people of the house 
finding that he had no money, turned him out of doors 
at eight o'clock in a cold winter night/ In this distress, 
he lay down to rest at a Citizen s door, where the owner 
of the house had him seized for a shoplifter, and when 
examined by the watch, some writings in defence of the 
Romish faith being found in his cap, he owned himself 
to be a Priest. He was then tried and convicted upon 
the Statute of Elizabeth, and was executed on April 17, 
1043, at Tyburn, and his head erected upon London 
Bridge. 

" On the 7th of March, 1642, the two Houses of Par- 
liament ordered that the City of London should be forti- 
fied, for its better security and safety ; and on the day 
following the order was printed, in small 4to, a copy of 
which is in the King's Collection of Tracts in the Bri- 
tish Museum, vol. 97 ; and of which, if I repeat you a 
portion of the title, you will receive all the information 
contained in the pamphlet itself. ' An Ordinance and 
Declaration of the Lords and Commons assembled in 
Parliament, that the Lord Mayor and Citizens of the 
City of London, for the better securing and safetie thereof, 
shall have full power and authority, according to their 
discretion, to trench, stop, and fortifie all high-waies 
leading into the said City, as well within the Liberties, 
as without, as they shall see cause. And for the better 
effecting thereof, shall impose upon all the inhabitants 



310 CHRONICLES OF [_A. D. 

within the same, upon every house worth 51. a year, six 
pence, and every house of greater rent, after the rate of 
two pence in the pound/ Another copy of this ordinance 
w^as printed in April, 1643, and is to be found in vol. 104 
of the same collection. Maitland, in his c History/ vol. i., 
pp. 368, 369, also mentions an act of Common Council 
passed for the same purpose, February 23, 1642-43 : and 
gives a plan of the fortifications erected round the City. 
It was enacted, s*ays he, that c all the passages and ways 
leading to the City should be shut up, excepting those 
entering at Charing Cross, St. Giles's in the Fields, St. 
John's Street, Shoreditch, and Whitechapel; and that 
the exterior ends of the said streets should be fortified 
with breast-works and turnpikes, musket-proof ; and all 
the sheds and buildings contiguous to London- Wall 
without, be taken down ; and that the City Wall, with 
its bulwarks, be not only repaired and mounted with 
artillery, but likewise that divers new works be added to 
the same at places most exposed.' When this act had 
been confirmed by the above ordinances of Parliament, 
the fortifications were commenced and carried on with 
considerable rapidity ; men, women, and children, w T ere 
employed upon the works ; and, in a short time, an earth- 
ern rampart, with redoubts, horn -works, batteries, forts, 
and bulwarks, was erected round the Cities of London 
and Westminster, and the Borough of Southwark. We 
have no particular account, however, of the manner in 
which London Bridge was fortified at this period ; and 
the great events which took place in the history of the 
Civil Wars seem to have swallowed up every circum- 
stance connected with this edifice. We learn, indeed, 
that in the year 1647, the Parliamentary army entered 
the City, whilst the Corporation was engaged in an irre- 
solute debate as to the measures to be adopted for its 
defence : when frequent conciliatory messages passed be- 
tween the chief Officers and London ; and, the less to 
alarm the Metropolis, the soldiers were quartered at some 



1643.] LONDON BRIDGE. 311 

distance from it. ' However, in this calm,' — says Lord 
Clarendon, who relates these circumstances in his 6 His- 
tory,' vol. iii., part i., book x., p. 104, — 4 they sent over 
Colonel Rainsborough with a brigade of horse, and foot, 
and cannon, at Hampton Court, to possess Southwark, and 
those works which secured that end of London Bridge ; 
which he did with so little noise, that in one night's 
inarch he found himself master, without any opposition, 
not only of the Borough of Southwark, but of all the 
works and forts which were to defend it ; the soldiers 
within shaking hands with those without, and refusiog to 
obey their officers which were to command them : so that 
the City, without knowing that any such thing was in 
agitation, found in the morning that all that avenue to 
the Town was possessed by the enemy ; whom they were 
providing to resist on the other side, being as confident of 
this that they had lost, as of any gate in the City/ 

" Bulstrode Whitelock, in his ' Memorials of the 
English Affairs,' London, 1732, fol., p. 263, enables us to 
add to this account, that on Colonel Rainsborough's 
advance to Southwark, he found the Bridge gates shut, 
the Portcullis lowered, and a guard within; but upon 
placing a counter-guard with two pieces of ordnance, 
against the gate, in a short time the great fort was 
surrendered ; about two in the morning of Monday, the 
2nd of August, 1647. 

" A curious invention, which, very probably, was 
never carried into execution, was, in the year 1643, 
connected with the history of London Bridge ; being the 
scheme of an unsuccessful engineer named Captain John 
Buhner. You may see an original copy of his 6 Propo- 
sitions in the Office of Assurance, London, for the 
Blowing up of a Boat and a man over London Bridge,' 
in the King's Collection of Tracts in the British Museum, 
Miscellaneous Pieces, vol. 3*, fol., article 88. In this 
statement, which consists of a broadside of one page, he 
thus commences. ' In the name of God, Amen. John 



312 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Bulnier, of London, Esquire: Master and Surveiour 
Generall of the King's Maiestie's Mines Royall, and 
Engines for Water-workes, propoundeth — by God's 
assistance,— that he, the said John Bulmer, shall and 
will, at and in a flowing water, set out a Boat or Vessell 
with an Engine, floating with a man or a boy in and 
aboard the said Boat, in the River of Thames, over 
against the Tower- wharfe, or lower. Which said Boat, 
with the said man or boy in or aboard her, shall the 
same tide, before low- water againe, by art of the said 
John Bulmer, and helpe of the said engine, be advanced 
and elevated so high, as that the same shall passe and 
be delivered over London Bridge, together with the said 
man or boy in and aboard her, and floate againe in the 
said River of Thames, on the other side of the said 
Bridge, in safety/ He then proceeds to covenant for 
himself, his . heirs, &c 5 to perform this within the space 
of one month, after he shall have intimated at the Assu- 
rance Office that he is about to put it in practice. 
This announcement was to be made 4 so soone as the 
undertakers wagering against him six for one, should 
have deposited in the Office such a sum as he should 
consider sufficient to c countervaile his charges of con- 
triving the said Boat and Engine.' Captain Bulmer was 
also to deposit his proportion of the money, and the 
whole, being subscribed and signed, was to remain in the 
office, until he had either performed his contract, when 
he was to receive it ; or till his failure, when it was to 
be re -delivered to the subscribers. This curious paper 
is dated November the 6th, and concludes with the 
following promise : ' And all those that will bring in 
their monies into the Office, shall be there assured of 
» their losse or gaine, according to the conditions above 
mentioned/ I imagine, however, that this scheme met 
with but little or no encouragement, because I find a 
new edition of it, dated March the 20th, 1647, printed 
in small folio, and inserted in the King's Tracts marked 



1643.] LONDON BRIDGE. 313 

c Single Sheets,' vol. v. art. 130. It varies, however, 
somewhat from the foregoing, and states that c the blow- 
ing up of a Gun from under the water by the breath of 
a mans mouth, shall occasion the raising of such Boate 
or vessell ; which said gun shall then forthwith after be 
discharged by fire given thereunto, and presently sinke 
againe : after the sinking whereof, another gunne shall 
be raised by such meanes as aforesaid, which shall be 
discharged also, forthwith upon the floating of the said 
Boate or Vessell on the other side of the sayd Bridge/ 
He no longer mentions his terms to be ' six for one,' but 
states that his performance shall take place within a 
month after the amount of his expenses shall be sub- 
scribed by ; persons pleasing to afford assistance and 
furtherance to arts and mysteries of this nature/ He 
adds too, that security will be given at the office, and 
that his reason for desiring these deposits is, ' for that 
losse of time in collection of the same after performance, 
would hinder him from prosecution of businesse of greater 
consequence, and tending to the publique good. He 
was, however, I doubt not, still unsuccessful; for his 
time was not only one of national poverty, arising from 
the Civil Wars, but it was also one of projectors as 
forward and as promising as himself : whilst the people, 
in general, seemed but little disposed to encourage any 
new scheme, however wonderful, and to be of the mind 
of Goldsmith's Scrivener, when he said, i For my part, I 
believe all the money is gone to the Devil, or beyond the 
seas, and he who has a little is a fool if he don't keep it 
to himself/ The Captain, notwithstanding, seems to 
have made another effort in November, 1649, in the 
form of a small folio sheet, entitled 4 A note of such 
Arts and Mysteries as an English Gentleman, a Souldier, m 
and a Traveller, is able, by God's assistance, to perform ; 
he having means to perfect the same ;' of which there is 
also a copy in the King's Tracts, marked ' Single Sheets, 9 
vol. 8, art. 90. It consists of five propositions, concerning 



314 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

Mines, Warlike Engines, Draining and raising water, 
and Machines for recovering goods from the sea : which 
secrets he states himself to have discovered ' with much 
study, travell, and expenses of many thousands of pounds;' 
and that now ' being old and out of employment, he is 
willing to shew his art in these things to any which are 
desirous to learn, upon assurance of such reward as they 
shall agree upon/ To this is added a certificate of his 
ability to perform several of his projects, from Emanuel 
College, Cambridge, dated 1646 ; and the paper concludes 
by a copy of most lamentable verses vindicating himself 
from his detractors. 

" In February, 1644-45, the head of Henry Morse, a 
Priest of the Society of Jesus, was set up on London 
Bridge. See Bishop Chailoner s * Martyrology/ vol. iii. 
p. 164. 

" The manuscript Survey of Bridge Lands which I 
have already mentioned, bears a memorandum that it 
was lent in 1653; and it commences with a regulation, 
which, from its language and orthography, appears to 
have been made much before that period, relating to an 
officer called the Sheuteman, who was, probably, an 
overseer of the Bridge works, and watched the cataracts 
or falls in the arches. The article is entitled ' An Order 
taken and made for the Sheuteman, by us Symond Ryse, 
and William Campion, Wardens of London Bridge ;' and 
in substance it is nearly as follows. ' For as much as 
diuerse and sundry nights the Sheuteman hath occasyon 
to ryse in the night-seison to come to his boots, (boats) 
to see the tydes as they fall erly or late for the occupa- 
tions of the Bridgehouse, so that the Porter muste open 
him the gate at vn due tymes of the night, contrary to 
the ordinances made for the same ; whiche is not onely 
to his greate payne and daunger,^ but also to the great 
perell and daunger that myght fall to the house ; for, 
when the gates be opened at ded tymes of the night, it is 
to be doutyd that some lewed persons myght entre in 



1657.] LONDON BRIDGE. Si 5 

after them, and not onely robbe thys house, but also putt 
in daungre of their Hues so many as be within. For 
Remedye whereof, we, the said Wardene, have ordeyned 
and appoynted a lodging to be made att the ende of the 
Crane Howse, within t^e Bridge-howse Yarde, with a 
chemnye in the same lodging, and sufficient for two or 
three persons to lye in yt; to the entente that the 
Sheuteman, with such persons as of consequence he moste 
have with him for causes requysyte for the tydes, may 
lye there drye, and tarye theyre tydes when theye fall 
in the nyght, very erly or late, hauing business to do for 
the howse : and also when they come from theyre labour 
weete, or att vn due tymes of the nyght, to goo home to 
tlieire houses, may tayre there, and make them fyre to 
drye them and keepe them warme, of such chyppes as 
ys hughed of the timber in the yerd, and none other, and 
nott to keepe any hospitalitie, or dwelling there at ony 
tyme, but att such tyme and tymes afore rehersed. 
And according to the old vse and custome, that when 
the Sheuteman by day-tyme be not occupy ed with the 
boats about the affairs of the Bridge workes, that then 
he is to doe all such workes within the Bridge-house 
yerde and in all other places as other laborers doeth, and 
so he is to receyue his wages, or els not. And this 
ordinance to be alwayes kept/ 

" In the year 1657, James Howel published his volume 
entitled ' Londinopolis ; an Historicall Discourse, or 
Perlustration of the City of London,' to which he attach- 
ed some Latin verses in praise of London Bridge, on the 
leaf immediately following the title-page. They are 
entitled in Latin ' Concerning London Bridge, and the 
stupendous site and structure thereof, in imitation of 
those celebrated six verses of the Poet Sannazario, on 
the City of Venice, commencing ' Viderat Hadriacis/ 
This beautiful hexastichon is to be found in that old and 
fair edition of his Latin Poems printed at the Aldine 
Press, Venice, 1535, 8vo., in the first book of Epigrams, 



316 CHRONICLES OP [_A. D, 

p. 38 b, and it is entitled ' On the Wonders of the City 
of Venice.' Now, that you may have some slight idea 
of the original of Howel's rhymes, before I recite them, 
perhaps you will permit me to repeat to you an English 
paraphrase of Sannazario's own verses, fairly composed in 
the Sonnet stanza, but not possessing the elegant concise- 
ness of the Latin V 

" Pray, go on, Sir," answered I, with a good deal of 
satirical ceremony in my voice ; " Pray go on, Mr. Bar- 
naby ; it's long shice I have had any choice as to what 
you shall put in, or what you shall leave out, of your 
discourse ; and, therefore, let's have the Sonnet, such as 
it is : you know the proverb, — in for a penny in for a 
pound/' 

u A facetious gentleman, truly/' was the Antiquary's 
reply ; u but let me observe for your consolation, Master 
Geoffrey, that we are now rapidly passing through the 
history of the Bridge, and that on later events I shall 
frequently have but little information to impart. How- 
ever, to return to the matter in hand, — this is the Sonnet. 

11 \A& Neptune saw, reclined upon his waves, 

In the fair Adriatic Venice stand 

A City, o'er its waters to command, 
And placed in rule o'er all its hillowy caves ! 
He cried, in wonder at the pile it laves, — 

Thy Tarpeian arches Jove himself hath plann'd. 

And thy vast walls were wrought hy Mars's hand, 
Hail, City ! which the main in triumph hra-ves ! 
Though some esteem the Tiber's royal pile 

The glory of the deep Pelagian sea ; 
Venice, look round on mainland and on isle, 

There is not one so mighty and so free ! 
< They are of men,' thou say'st with lofty smile, 

But God alone hath rear'd and planted thee !' 

64 This is truly somewhat ' in Ercles' vein,' ? continued 
the old gentleman, as he finished the Sonnet ; " but I 
think you will agree with me that it is completely c out- 
heroded ' by Howel's imitation of it ; as, indeed, his 
Latinity is vastly inferior to Sannazario's. I really cannot 



1657.3 LONDON BRIDGE. olj 

imagine, how some have supposed that Howel's Latin 
verses were written by the Italian ; but this grievous mis- 
take has been made, in consequence, perhaps, of the words 
4 ad instarj — after the manner of, — being overlooked. 
The original poem you may read and criticise at your 
leisure, but his well-known English translation runs thus, 

" ' When Neptune from his billows London spyde, 
Brought proudly hither by a high spring-tyde ; 
As through a floating wood he steer'd along, 
And dancing castles cluster'd in a throng ; — 
When he beheld a mighty Bridge give law 
Unto his surges, and their fury awe ; 
When such a shelf of cataracts did roar, 
As if the Thames with Nile had changed her shore ; — 
When he such massy walls, such towers did eye, 
Such posts, such irons upon his back to lye ; — 
When such vast arches he observed, that might 
Nineteen Rialtos make, for depth and height ; 
When the Cerulean God these things survey r d, 
He shook his trident, and astonished said, 
Let the whole Earth now all her wonders count, 
This Bridge of wonders is the paramount !' 

" I cannot imagine, Mr. Barbican, why the ' Londino- 
polis,' in which these verses are printed, should ever be 
quoted in preference to Stow's ' Survey,' from which it is 
little more than a transcript, as Howel himself acknow- 
ledges in his Advertisement. I should mention, however, 
that it contains two fine prints, for which it is, perhaps, 
chiefly desirable : one consisting of a very spirited whole- 
length portrait of the author, resting against a tree, and 
executed in that singular style for which Claude Mellan 
was so famous ; and the other an interesting half-sheet 
etching by Hollar, of London, before the Great Fire. 
With these embellishments, and its own popularity, the 
volume sells for about 11. lis. 6d. ; but a fine impression 
of the latter engraving alone will produce the sum of 
10s. 6d. From this work, then, at page 22, we learn 
that the destruction occasioned by the c most raging- 
dismal fire' of 1633, was not wholly repaired at the time 



318 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

of its publication ; for, after stating that it consumed a 
third part, of the buildings on the Bridge, it is added, c by 
the commendable care of the City, there are other goodly 
structures raised up in some of their rooms, of a stronger, 
and more stately way of building ; and pity it is that the 
work were not compleated, there being no object, — after 
the Church of St. Paul, — that can conduce more to the 
glory and ornament of this renowned City.' Yet, notwith- 
standing this Author's praises of c the Bridge of the 
World/ as he calls it, on page 20 he makes us acquainted 
with what may be considered as an ancient satire upon 
it ; since he says, c If London Bridge had fewer eyes^ it 
would see far better' The arches of this edifice, and the 
dangerous passage through them, have also given rise to 
another quaint saying, which is recorded in the Rev. J. 
Ray's 6 Compleat Collection of English Proverbs,' Lon- 
don, 1737, octavo, pp. 13 and 251, and which is, " London 
Bridge was made for wise men to go over, and fools to 
go under/ 

" On Tuesday, the 29th of May, 1660, King Charles 
the Second entered London in triumph, after having been 
magnificently entertained in St. George's Fields. About 
three in the afternoon he arrived in South wark, and 
thence proceeded over the Bridge into the City, attended 
by all the glory of London, and the military forces of 
the kingdom. Lord Clarendon, who makes this 4 fair 
return of banished Majesty ' the concluding scene of his 
noble History, gives us but little information as to the 
King's reception at London Bridge, though we learn 
from him that e the crowd was so great, that the King 
rode in a crowd from the Bridge to Whitehall ; all the 
Companies of the City standing in order on both sides, 
and giving loud thanks to God for his Majesty's pre- 
sence.' ' All the streets ' — says White Kennet, Bishop 
of Peterborough, in his c Historical Register of English 
Affairs/ London, 1744, folio, p. 163, — 'were richly 
adorned with tapestry, from London Bridge to White- 



1G61.] LONDON BRIDGE. 319 

hall ;' and beyond Temple-bar, were lined with the 
Trained bands, and a troop of the late King's Officers, 
headed by the loyal Sir John Stawell. The procession, 
which was chiefly an equestrian one, was begun by 
Major- General Brown, and 300 Citizens in cloth of 
silver doublets; who were followed by 1200 more all 
in velvet, with footmen and liveries in purple. Alder- 
man Robinson then led other parties habited in buff 
coats, with sleeves of silver tissue, and green silk scarfs ; 
some in blue liveries with silver lace ; and footmen and 
trumpeters in sea-green, grey, and silver liveries. Eighty 
of the Sheriffs' followers attended in red cloaks lined 
with silver, holding half-pikes; and 600 of the City 
Companies rode in black velvet coats and gold chains, 
with their respective servitors in - cassocks and ribands. 
Drums, trumpets, streamers, and the Life-guards, in 
satin, scarlet, and silver, followed ; then came the City- 
Marshall, with 8 footmen in French green, trimmed 
with crimson and white ; whilst the City Waits and 
Officers, the Sheriffs, the Aldermen, and their attend- 
ants, blazed in red, and cloths of gold and silver, in the 
next rank. Heralds and Maces, in their splendid habits, 
preceded Sir Thomas Allen, the Lord Mayor ; who, to 
gratify the City, was permitted to carry the sword of 
London immediately before the King, which had not 
been done in any former public entry, excepting when 
Charles I. returned from Scotland in 1641, and even then 
the Sword of State had the precedence. 

" I have next to mention a very rare and curious 
pamphlet, never yet cited in the History of London 
Bridge, of a vision seen upon that edifice in March, 1661. 
It is contained in Article 6, No. 867, of that invaluable 
collection of Tracts which the late King presented to the 
British Museum. Like most of the wonderful pamphlets 
of the seventeenth century, its title is truly astounding, 
but the book itself is only a small quarto of four leaves ; 
of which, as all that now concerns us is contained in three 



320 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

pages, I shall give you the whole, and iirst for the mag- 
nificent Title-page. 

" i Strange News from the West, being a true and perfect account 
of several Miraculous Sights seen in the Air Westward, on Thurs- 
day last, being the 21 day of this present March, by divers persons 
of credit standing on London Bridge between 7 and 8 of the clock 
at night. Two great Armies marching forth of two clouds, and 
encountring each other ; but, after a sharp dispute, they suddenly 
vanished. Also, some remarkable Sights that were seen to issue 
forth of a cloud that seemed like a mountain, in the shapes of a 
Bull, a Bear, a Lyon, and an Elephant with a Castle on his back, 
and the manner how they all vanished. London, Printed for 
J. Jones, 1661 . ? Such is the entry into this exhibition of won- 
ders ; the tract itself commences thus. 

" ' An exact relation of several] strange wonders, that were seen 
on Thursday last, by several persons then on London Bridge, ap- 
pearing in the West of England. — Apparent hath been many signs 
and wonders made to us here in England, whereby the incredulous 
have been convinced of their obstinacy. It being a great question, 
and doubtfull now with the generality of people, whether those 
things lately published which appeared in foreign parts were feasible 
or no, they have since been verified by other credible persons from 
those parts, to the great satisfaction of some hundreds : therefore I 
shall forbear mentioning them, and give you an exact account of 
what hath lately been visible to divers persons now resident in the 
City of London, which was as followeth, viz. 

" ( Upon the 21 day of March, about, or between 7 and 8 of 
the clock at night, divers persons living in the City — as they came 
over London Bridge — discovered several clouds in strange shapes, 
at which they suddenly made a stand, to see what might be the 
event of so miraculous a change in the motion of the Heavens. The 
first cloud seemed to turn into the form or shape of a Cathedral, 
with a Tower advancing from the middle of it upwards, which con- 
tinued for a small space and then vanished away. Another turned 
into a tree, spreading itself like an oak, — as near as could be judged, 
— which, in a short space, vanished. Between these tw T o was, as it 
were, standing, a great mountain, which continued in the same 
form near a quarter of an hour ; after which, the mountain still 
remaining, there appeared several strange shapes one after another, 
issuing out of the said mountain, about the middle of the right side 
thereof: the first seemed to be formed like a Crokedile, with his 
mouth wide open ; this continued a very short space, and, by de- 
grees, w 7 as transformed into the form of a furious Bull ; and, not 
long after, it was changed into the form of a Lyon : but it conti- 
nued so a short time, and was altered into a Bear, and, soon after , 



1661.] LONDON BRIDGE. 321 

into a Hog, or Boar, as near as those could guess who were spec- 
tators. After all these shapes had appeared, the mountain seemed 
to be divided and altered into the form of two monstrous beasts, 
fastened together by the hinder parts, drawing one apart from the 
other : that which appeared on the left hand, resembled an Ele- 
phant with a castle upon his hack ; that upon the right hand, we 
could not so well determine, but it seemed to us like a Lyon or 
some such like beast. 

" * The Castle on the back of the Elephant vanished, the Ele- 
phant himself losing his shape; and, where the Castle stood, there 
rose up a small number of men, as we judged, about some four or 
six : these were iu continual motion. The other beast, which was 
beheld on the right hand, seemed to be altered into the form of an 
Horse, with a rider on his back, and, after a small proportion of 
time, the whole vanished, falling downward. Then arose another 
great cloud, and in small time it formed it selfe into the likenesse 
of the head of a great Whale, the mouth of which stood wide open. 
After this, at some distance on the right hand, appeared a cloud, 
which became like unto a head, or cap, with a horn, or ear, on each 
side thereof, which was of very considerable length. Between 
these two rose a few men, who moved up and down with a swift 
motion ; and immediately after they all vanished except one man, 
who still continued moving up and down with much state and 
majesty. In the mean time arose near adjacent unto this head, or 
cap, another cloud, out of which cloud issued forth an Army, or great 
body of men ; and upon the left hand arose another Army, each of 
which marched one towards the other ; about this time the single 
man vanished aw r ay, and the two Armies seemed to approach very 
near each other, and encounter, maintaining a combat one against 
the other, and, after a short contest, all vanished. During all this 
time there seemed, to our best apprehension, a flame of fire along 
the Strand, towards the City of London.' 

" Such is the notice of these ' strange sights/ as they 
are truly called ; but, though I do not cite them, the 
remaining two pages of the pamphlet are filled with an 
account of some much stranger seen in Hamburgh, in the 
preceding February : and now that I have finished, Mr. 
Barbican, pray what do you think of it ? " 

"What do I think of it?" returned I: "Why, as 
Captain Ironside says in the Play, '" that it's a lie, to be 
sure !' You very well know, Mr. Postern, that a great 
part of the seventeenth century was quite an age for 
seeing wonders in the air : for they were continually 

Y 



322 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

being exhibited to all sorts and conditions of men ; 
whilst, ever and anon, came forth a pamphlet full of 
marvel and trumpery, detailing the last revelation, occa- 
sionally ornamented ' with a type of the vision curiously 
engraven on copper/ You may remember, how the 
Author of c The History of the Great Plague/ tells you 
that he was in some danger from a crowd in St. Giles's, 
because he could not discern an Angel in the air, holding 
a drawn sword in his hand. Believe me, good Mr. 
Barnaby, such visions are extremely rare; and, when 
they do appear, they come not in the uncertain forms of 
that which you have now referred to. Minds of more 
weakness than piety gave a ready faith to them, and in 
convulsed or sorrowful times were often hearing voices 
w T hich spake not, and seeing signs which were never 
visible : willing to deceive, or be deceived, they saw, like 
Polonius, clouds ' backed like an ousel,' or, c very like a 
whale ;' 

'- So hypochondriac fancies represent 
Ships, Armies, Battles, in the firmament ; 
Till steadier eyes the exhalations solve, 
And all to its first matter, clouds, resolve!' t9 

u Truly, Mr. Barbican," answered the Antiquary, as 
I concluded, u truly, Sir, I should never have divined 
that you had any dislike to dull reflections, had you not 
yourself assured me so ; but now, if you will pledge me 
in another draught of sack, 111 furnish you with a new 
scene of London Bridge, from the pencil of an eminent 
foreigner, as it appeared in May, 1663. This is selected 
from the very amusing 'Voyages de Mons. de Mon- 
conys ;' and the best edition of his book is that bearing 
the imprint of Paris, though it was in reality published 
at Lyons, in 1695, duodecimo. In the second volume 
of this work, and on page 14 of the part relating to 
England, he thus speaks of London Bridge. ' After 
having passed this place,' — that is, Greenwich, which the 
Author calls Grennche, — 6 we soon came to London, of 



1665.] LONDON BRIDGE. 323 

which the length is truly incredible ; but more than 
two thirds of the River sides are occupied by ware- 
houses and very small buildings of wood, even upon the 
Bridge, at the foot of which, on the City side, is a large 
edifice erected wholly of wood, without any iron, which 
seems to be of hewn stone, it is so regularly built. At 
the other extremity of the Bridge, above the towers of 
a castle, are many of the heads of the murderers of King 
Charles/ On page 21, M. Moncony is speaking of the 
- hots' — boats, — which formerly plied on the Thames to 
carry persons to the City, or Westminster, by way of 
avoiding the rude English coaches, and the ruder paved 
streets of London : ; They never,' says he, • go below 
the Bridge ; although there is not any place to which 
they cannot be had, but it is considered dangerous for 
these small boats to go under the Bridge when the tide 
is running up, for the water has then an extreme rapidity, 
even greater than when it is returning, and the two 
currents are united/ On page 121, in mentioning his 
visit to the Tower, he states that neither in going nor 
returning did his boat pass under the Bridge ; for the 
tide being running up, there was a fall of more than two 
feet. The passengers left the boat, crossed to the other 
side of the Bridge, and then re-entered it : whilst the 
watermen, he adds, had no difficulty in descending the 
fall, but a great deal in mounting up it again. 

" It has been reported, that during the awful time 
when London was being devastated by the terrible 
Plague of 1665, the inhabitants of the Bridge were free 
from its ravages; which is attributed to the ceaseless 
rushing of the river beneath it. I have not yet disco- 
vered, however, the least foundation for such a tradition 
in any of the numerous publications which appeared 
concerning the pestilence ; and, indeed, the only place 
in which I find this edifice at all mentioned, is in that 
terrible volume attributed to Daniel Defoe, and called 
6 A Journal of the Plague Year, by a Citizen who con- 

"y2 



324 CHRONICLES OF [_A. D, 

timied all the while in London ;' London, 1722, octavo, 
where, on page 255, when speaking of the fires made in 
the streets for clearing the air after the pestilence, he 
says, ' I do not remember whether any was at the City 
Gates, but one at the Bridge foot there was, just by St. 
Magnus* Church/ 

" I cannot imagine, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, that in 
the fearful conflagration of London, which occurred 
between the night of Saturday and the morning of 
Sunday, the 2nd of September, 1666, the Bridge suffered 
in any proportion to the rest of the City ; for I have 
already shown you, from Strype's Stow's ' Survey/ that 
some of the original houses of King John's time, were 
subsequently standing at the Southwark end. I attri- 
bute this preservation to the vacancy opposed to the 
flames at the North end of the Bridge ; but as the fire 
forms so memorable an epoch in the history of London, 
I shall bring before you some evidence concerning its 
actual effect upon this building. ' 'Twas at still mid- 
night, 9 says one of the most particular accounts of it 
extant, ' when all was wrapt in a peaceful silence, and 
every eye shut up in quiet slumber, that this dreadful! 
fire brake forth, whose hidden flames at first obscurely 
crept within close limits ; but quickly scorning to be so 
confined, in a bright blaze brake openly upon us. And 
now the voice of fire in every street — with horrid 
emphasis, — is echoed forth : these dreadful! screems 
disturb our midnight quiet, and raise affrighted people 
from their beds, who, scarce awake, all seems to be a 
dream. Each one appears but as a moving statue, as 
once Lot's wife, viewing her flaming Sodom, transformed 
into a pillar : a powerfull wind aided these raging flames, 
which, like a growing foe, incieaseth still/ Such is the 
commencement of a broadside, entitled 'A Short Descrip- 
tion of the fatal and dreadfull Burning of London ; 
divided into every day and night's progression. Com- 
posed by Samuel Wiseman ;' but yet this most parti- 



1666.] LONDON BRIDGE. 325 

cular sheet relates nothing concerning the Bridge. We 
have, however, some little information in a narrative 
written by Thomas Vincent, — a non-conformist Minister, 
who was ejected from the living of St. Mary Magdalen, 
in Milk-street ; — and called ' God's terrible Judgements 
in the City, by Plague and Fire/ Now, says the Author, 
it ; rusheth down the hill towards the Bridge ; crosseth 
Thames-street, invadeth St. Magnus' €hurch at the 
Bridge-foot ; and, though that Church were so great, 
yet it was not a sufficient barricado against this Con- 
queror ; but, having scaled and taken this fort, it shoot- 
eth flames with so much the greater advantage into all 
places round about ; and a great building of houses upon 
the Bridge is quickly thrown to the ground : then the 
conqueror, being stayed in his course at the Bridge, 
marcheth back to the City again, and runs along with 
great noise and violence through Thames- street, West- 
ward/ The minute and pathetic narrative of the accom- 
plished John Evelyn, adds nothing to these particulars ; 
for he says only in his c Diary/ edit. 1818, vol. i. p. 375, 
on September the 7th, upon the destruction of certain 
houses erected about the Tower, if they had c taken fire 
and attacked the White Tower, where the magazine of 
powder lay, they would undoubtedly not only have 
beaten and destroyed all y e Bridge, but sunke and 
torne the vessells in y e River." The Report of Samuel 
Pepys/in his ' Diary,' already quoted, does not give us 
much additional information ; though he tells us, in 
vol. i. p. 445, that on the morning of the 2nd, he went 
on the Tower battlements, whence he saw c the houses 
at that end of the Bridge all on fire; and an infinite 
great fire on this and the other side the end of the 
Bridge, which, with other people, did trouble me for 
poor little Mitchell and our Sarah on the Bridge/ He 
subsequently adds that the fire increased on both sides 
the North end of London Bridge, but there is nothing 
said farther concerning its attack upon the edifice itself. 



326 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

U There are several prospects of this dreadful confla- 
gration, though few of them are worthy of any credit, 
most having been executed in Holland ; and it is pro- 
bable, indeed, that the best was a small and spirited 
etching by Wenceslaus Hollar, measuring 7 inches by 
2|, and inserted on the right hand side of c A New and 
Exact Map of Great Brkaine. Published by John 
Overton, at the White Horse, without Newgate. 1667.' 
Single sheet. This view is taken from Hollars old 
observatory, the tower of St. Mary Overies Church ; 
and represents the fire spreading furiously Westward, 
whilst the Bridge appears untouched. This fine little 
print you will find to be the first illustration in vol. ii. 
of Mr. Crowle's Pennant, in the Print Room of the 
British Museum ; and it is entitled ' Prospect of the 
Citty of London, as it appeared in the time of its flames :' 
it has frequently sold for 10s. 6d., and sometimes for 15s., 
even without the plate it belongs to. Hollars long 
view of the City immediately after the conflagration, I 
have already mentioned ; and in that we see with much 
more certainty the actual damage sustained by our un- 
happy old edifice, in the Ruins of the River-side and 
Bridge after the Fire. 



- 









all-- 




" The alteration appears chiefly to consist in the de- 
struction of that large square building, which terminated 



1666.] LONDON BRIDGE. 327 

the Northern end of the Bridge ; and, of course, the 
entire demolition of the wooden pales and passage, which 
had been erected after the fire of 1 633 ; but beyond this 
the flames do not seem to have penetrated. The banks 
of the River, indeed, presented a more entire picture of 
ruin. Of the grand Church of St. Magnus nothing re- 
mained but some of the walls, and the buildings in front 
of it were destroyed even to the waters edge ; whilst on 
the Western side of the Bridge, the Water- works and 
Tower, numerous houses lining the River, and the ancient 
edifice of Fishmongers' Hall, were reduced either to 
smouldering fragments, scarcely bearing- even the forms 
of what they once had been, or else had not one stone 
left upon another. c The Long Antwerp View of Lon- 
don/ which has been already so minutely described, 
furnishes us with a good representation of Fishmongers' 
Hall before the Fire of 1666 ; and it appears to have 




been a plain narrow edifice, castellated and covered with 
lead on the top, having two principal stories, the lower 



328 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

one of which had a kind of gallery or balcony, an orna- 
ment which was very common to buildings in this part of 
London. The Companies of the Salt-fish and Stock-fish 
mongers were anciently possessed of so many as six Halls ; 
of which two stood in New Fish-street, now called Fish- 
street Hill ; two more were in Old Fish-street, and two 
others were erected in Thames-street ; in each place one 
for each Company. These, however, were all united in 
the year 1536, the 28th of Henry the Eighth ; after 
which they were to have but one Hall, namely, the 
house given to them by Sir John Cornwall, afterwards 
created Baron Fanhope, in 1427, the 6th year of Henry 
VI., which I take to have been the building represented 
in the print ; since Stow, in his c Survey/ vol. i. p. 499, 
from whom we derive these few particulars, says that it 
was in the Parish of St. Michael, Crooked Lane : and 
adds on the preceding page, that \ Fishmongers' Hall, 
with other fair houses for merchants, standeth about 
midway between the Bridge foot and Ebgate, or Old 
Swan-lane.' Still more brief, however, are the notices 
which he furnishes us concerning the Company's other 
Halls, which once stood about the same spot. c On the 
West side of this Ward/ — says the old Citizen,— c at the 
North end of London Bridge, is a part of Thames-street, 
which is also of this Ward, to wit, so much as of old time 
was called Stock- Fishmonger Row,' — a place, you will 
remember, referred to in that manuscript Survey of 
Bridge lands which I some time since recited to you, — 
' of the Stock-fishmongers dwelling there, down West to 
a Water-gate, of old time called Ebgate, since Ebgate 
Lane, and now the Old Swan/ I will not enter into the 
history of the Fishmongers' Company, Mr. Barbican, 
because it does not belong to our present subject ; and you 
may read the chief particulars for yourself, in Stow's 
6 Survey,' vol. i. p. 498, and vol. ii. p. 268 ; and shall 
therefore only add a very few particulars concerning the 
present Hall. According to the splendid plan of Sir 



1666.] LONDOX BRIDGE. 329 

Christopher Wren, for adorning the banks of the Thames, 
it presents to the River a handsome, though somewhat 
old-fashioned front of red-brick, having the windows 
ornamented with stone cases. From the wharf on which 
the Shades' Tavern is situate, a grand double flight of 
stone steps leads to the chief apartments ; and the door 
is decorated with Ionic columns supporting an open pedi- 
ment, containing a shield with the Company's Arms, all 
of stone. I shall say nothing, however, of the handsome 
North front of this building, its spacious court -yard, and 
its beautiful carved gateway in Thames-street ; nor yet 
of the rich state chambers, their fine paintings of fish, 
their massive and richly chased silver branches, their 
large brazen chandeliers, the interesting relique of Sir 
William Walworth, nor of the interior of the spacious 
Hall. I will tell you nothing of either of these, Mr. 
Geoffrey, since they cannot be observed from London 
Bridge ; but before I entirely quit the Fishmongers, let 
me observe that Strype, in his Fifth Book of Stow's 
' Survey/ has two very singular notices concerning them, 
which I do not remember to have seen mentioned in any 
historical account of yonder passage across the Thames. 
They consist of certain ancient statutes peculiar to this 
Company, taken from the record called ' Horn/ in the 
Chamber of London ; and they state that it should be 
prohibited that any Fishmonger should c buy a fresh fish 
before Mass at the Chapel upon the Bridge be celebrated :' 
which Chapel, it is elsewhere stated, is one of the bounds 
beyond which no Fishmonger ought to go to buy fish. 

" I have already observed that Hollar s View of Lon- 
don, after the Fire, shows the fine old Church of- St. 
Magnus, which we may consider the North-East boundary 
of London Bridge, reduced to a pile of ruined walls ; 
having all those costly repairs and beautifyings, which 
Stow, in his ' Survey,' vol. i. p. 494, records as having 
taken place from 1623 to 1629, destroyed in the flames, 
Before I speak, however, of the re-edification of this fane, 



4330 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

I shall notice the means employed for that of the Bridge 
itself, as they are related hy the continuators of Stow in 
his c Survey/ vol. i. p. 62. Most of the buildings erected 
upon it were, as they tell us, totally consumed, except- 
ing the Chapel, and a few edifices standing on the South 
end, of the time of King John : though this, as I have 
shown you, must be erroneous. We may believe, how- 
ever, from all the circumstances attendant upon the fire, 
that the stone- work of the Bridge was so battered and 
weakened, ' that it cost the Bridge-House 1500/. to make 
good the damage in the piers and arches, before the lease- 
holders could attempt to rebuild the premises destroyed 
by the fire/ Though ' the stone- work,' continues this 
passage, ' was no sooner secured, than a sufficient number 
of tenants offered ; who conditioned with the Bridge- 
House for building-leases of 61 years, at the rate of 10*. 
per foot, running, yearly, and to build after such a form 
and substantial manner as was prescribed/ This was so 
rapidly carried into effect, that in five years the North 
end was all completely finished, with houses four stories 
high, and a street of 20 feet in breadth between them, 
measuring from side to side. To make the South end 
equally perfect, however, and, at the same time, to 
equalize the rent of the whole, required the invention of 
some expedient ; since the older buildings were already 
leased to several tenants, with longer and shorter portions 
of their time yet to elapse, whilst the leases of others 
were entirely expired. To arrange all these with pro- 
priety, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty, 
who were appointed for the letting of the Bridge- House 
lands, with the assistance of Mr. Philip Odde, then 
Clerk Comptroller of those estates, took the following 
method. For the first class of tenants, they measured 
the number of feet in the front of each house; and 
ascertained the amount of rent, and the time of the lease 
yet unexpired : whilst a second and third classes were 
formed of those whose leases were nearly out, or entirely 



1066.] LONDON BRIDGE, 331 

finished. To such as had the longest term to run, a 
moderate time was added, with an abatement of rent 
answerable to the cost of re-erecting their buildings, in 
uniformity with those at the North end. Of the tenants 
whose leases were nearly expired, and who were unable 
to build, they were redeemed for valuable considerations ; 
the dilapidated stone-work for the new buildings was 
then repaired by the City, at an expense of nearly 1000/. ; 
and in about four or five years the whole edifice was 
completed. 

u We are not, however, now informed of any repair 
of the Draw-Bridge, although it certainly existed until 
the great alteration of 1758 ; but, probably, even long 
before this time, had ceased to be of any great utility. 
You may see, in Stow's historical notices of Queenhithe, 
(vide his c Survey/ vol. i. p. 697 — 700,) that in the reign 
of King Henry III. ships and boats laden with corn and 
fish for sale, were compelled to pass beyond the Bridge to 
that most ancient wharf and market. In 1 463, however, 
the third year of King Edward IV., the same authority 
informs us that the market at Queenhithe was ; hindered 
by reason of the slackness of drawing up of London 
Bridge/ which seems to infer some difficulty in raising it 
even at that period ; fresh ordinances being then made 
to cause vessels with provisions to proceed up the River. 
I cannot, however, tell you at what time the Draw- 
Bridge was made wholly stationary; though it seems 
not to have been till after the publication of the last 
ancient edition of Stow's ' Survey,' in 1633, fol., as, in 
Strype's excellent new one, of 1720, vol. i. book i. p. 58, 
he adds some notices of the arches, in which occurs the 
following passage. ' Two of these arches are much 
larger than the rest, viz. that over which is the Draw- 
Bridge; and the other called the Simile Lock. These 
were for the use of greater vessels that went through 
Bridge Westward. The Draw-Bridge formerly was, 
upon such occasions, taken up ; but now-a-days never, 



332 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

but when it wants repairing/ The additions of Richard 
Bloome also, on p. 56 in the same volume, furnish us 
with several particulars of these arches, which I shall 
introduce to you in this place, because they apply, 
almost equally, both to the Bridge before the Fire, and 
to the ancient appearance of the present one. ' There 
were,' says he, c three vacancies, with stone walls, and 
iron grates/ — rather rails, — ' over them, on either side, 
opposite to each other ; through which grates, people, as 
they pass over the Bridge, may take, a view of the River 
both East and West ; and also may go aside, more to . 
each side, out of the way of carts and coaches, the passage 
being but narrow, and not only troublesome but danger- 
ous. These three vacancies are over three of the middle 
arches, for all the piers are not of a like thickness, nor 
stand at equal distance one from the other ; for under 
those three vacancies are much wider than the rest, and 
are called the navigable locks, because vessels of con- 
siderable burthen may pass through them. One of these 
is near unto the second gate, and is called the Rock 
Lock. The second is under the second vacancy, and is 
called the Draw-Bridge Lock. And the third is near 
the Chapel, and is called St. Mary's Lock. There is a 
fourth between St. Magnus* Church and the first vacancy, 
and is called the Kings Lock, for that .the King in his 
passage through Bridge, in his barge, goes through this 
lock/ In Strype's additions to these particulars, which 
I have already referred to, he says, c The two Arches 
next London are now stopped up for the use of the Water- 
mills, but without any prejudice to the current of the 
Thames. The third arch on the Southwark side is 
seldom, and very rarely, passed through, because of a 
rock grown there a little to the East, which is visible at 
low water. This rock hath been observed this many a 
year, and is called the Rock Lock. The reparation of 
these arches, and the striking down piles for securing 
them, is continual, and men are kept on purpose to take 



1666.] LONDON BRIDGE. 333 

care of it, and to do it. Whereof they have two Master- 
workmen, viz. a Head-Carpenter,' — whose name in 
Strype's time was Wise, — * and a Head- Mason, whose 
office it is to look after the Bridge under the Bridge- 
Masters/ The common report of the rock growing 
beneath the water, under one of the Arches of London 
Bridge, is, however, one of those popular traditions which 
are generally to be found connected with almost every 
edifice, engendered partly by ignorance, and partly by 
the desire mentioned by the Indian in Robinson Crusoe, 
* To make the great wonder look!' 'We have been 
assured/ says the Rev. John Motley, in ' Seymour's 
Survey of London/ vol. i. p. 48, ' by a person of great 
veracity as well as curiosity, that a friend of his, in the 
the year l7lo, when the. tide was so kept back that many 
people walked over the river, went near enough to 
examine this, and found it to be stones joined together 
with cement, and iron in some places; and therefore 
supposed it was part of an arch that had formerly been 
broken down, and never since removed/ It has been 
generally believed, that these ruins were the fragments 
of the two arches, and the Bridge-gate, which, as I have 
related to you, fell down in the year 1437 : and which, 
having now lain nearly four centuries, and been increased 
by the deposits which millions of tides have cast upon 
them, have become almost as impenetrable as a solid 
rock, and the arch, therefore, retains its ancient name. 
Such was London Bridge after it was rebuilt, ; peopled/ 
— as Evelyn says of the City, but a very few days after 
the fire, — ; with new shops, noise, and business, not to 
say vanity/ — c A Bridge/ exclaims Richard Bloom e, in 
his continuations to Stow, vol. i. p. 499, c not inferior to 
any in Europe for its length, breadth, and buildings 
thereon, being sustained by nineteen great stone arches, 
secured by piles of timber drove to the bottom of the 
river, having a Draw-Bridge towards Southwark, as also 
strong gates ; and, by its houses built thereon on both 



334 CHRONICLES OF [a. D, 

sides, it seemeth rather a street than a Bridge, being now 
garnished with good timber buildings, which are very 
well inhabited by sufficient tradesmen, who have very 
considerable dealings, as being so great a thoroughfare 
from South wark into London/ 

" Whilst I am mentioning this praise of London Bridge, 
1 may express my wonder that Michael Drayton, in his 
c Poly-Olbion,' London, 1613, folio, says so little con- 
cerning it, whilst John Selden, in his very learned notes 
to that poem, wholly omits it. As I purpose next to say 
a few words touching the rebuilding of St. Magnus' 
Church, I will close this part of our Bridge history by 
repeating Drayton's verses from Song xvii. p. 259 : where, 
speaking of the Thames, he says, — 

4 Then goes he on along by that more beauteous strand, 
Expressing both the wealth and brauery of the land ; 

So many sumptuous bow'rs, within so little space, 

The all-beholding sun scarce sees in all his race : — 
And on by London leads, which like a crescent lie3, 
Whose windowes seem to mock the star-befreckled skies : 
Besides her rising spyres, so thick themselues that show, 
As doe the bristling reedes within his banks that growe : 
There sees his crowded wharfes, and people-pester'd shores, 
His bosome overspread with shoal es of labouring oares ; 
With that most costly Bridge, that doth him most renowne, 
By which he clearly puts all other Riuers downe.' 

" Bloome, the continuator of Stow, to whose labours 
we are in general little less indebted than we are to 
those of the old historian himself, gives us but few par- 
ticulars concerning the rebuilding of St. Magnus' Church ; 
stating only that it was erected of free-stone, with 4 a 
tower and steeple of curious workmanship; to which 
Church/ he adds, c is united the Parish of St. Margaret, 
New Fish-street, that Church not being rebuilt/ New- 
court, in his account of the Rectory of St. Magnus, says 
likewise very little as to its history ; though he tells us, 
that when the Parishes were united, the yearly value of 
them was made 170/., whereas, in 1632, that of St. 



1666.] LONDON BRIDGE. 335 

Magnus amounted only to SSL, and that of St. Margaret 
to 70/. : and he states also that part of their Church, 
before it was rebuilt, was laid into the street, for en- 
larging the passage. We have, however, a very fair 
though brief description of the new Church of St. Mag- 
nus, in the ' Memoirs of the Life and Works of Sir 
Christopher Wren/ by James Elmes ; London, 1323, 4to, 
pp. 857, 490 ; wherein he states that it was begun in 
1676, and that the lofty tower, lanthorn, cupola, and 
spire, were added in 1705. It is then, as all may see for 
themselves, an elegant and substantial Church, built of 
stone and oak timber, covered with lead and crowned 
with a handsome lofty steeple, consisting of a tower, a 
lanthorn containing ten bells, and a cupola surmounted 
by a well-proportioned spire. The interior measuring 
90 feet in length, 59 in breadth, and 41 in height, is 
divided into a nave and two aisles, by columns, and an 
entablature of the Ionic order ; whilst the roof, over the 
nave, is camerated, and enriched with arches of fret- 
work, executed in stucco. For the monuments, epitaphs, 
and benefactors of this Church, both ancient and modern, 
I must refer you to Strype's Stow, vol. i., p. 494 ; and 
will mention only the gift of the clock by Sir Charles 
Duncomb, in the year 1700, at the cost of 485/. 5s. M. 
The dial of this clock was formerly ornamented with 
several richly gilded figures, which have since been re- 
moved ; but a view of the Church, before the archway 
was opened, — of which we shall speak hereafter, — 
having also the clock in its original state, will be found 
in Stow's ; Survey/ at my last reference, and in Mait- 
land's c History of London/ vol. ii., p. 1124. Tradition 
says, that it was erected in consequence of a vow 
made by the donor, who, in the earlier part of his life, 
had once to wait a considerable time in a cart upon 
London Bridge, without being able to learn the hour, 
when he made a promise, that if ever he became success- 
ful in the world, he would give to that Church a public 



336 CHRONICLES OF £a. P. 

clock, and an hour- glass, that all passengers might see 
the time of day. There is in the 4 Protestant Mercury,' 
of September the 11th, 1700, the following rather curious 
mention of this clock : ' On Monday last, the Right 
Honourable the Lord Mayor, accompanied by the wor- 
shipful Aldermen and Sheriffs, went, with the usual for- 
malities, to proclaim South wark fair ; after which they 
were nobly entertained at the Bridge House, according 
to an ancient annual custom. In their passing by St. 
Magnus' Church, they were presented with a view of 
that noble and magnificent Dial erected at the West end, 
at the charge of the generous Sir Charles Duncomb, 
which equalizing, if not exceeding, all others of that 
kind, seems to answer the design of the donor/ This 
donation is also recorded upon the clock itself ; for upon 
a small metal plate, shaped like a shield, and silvered, 
screwed to the interior^ are engraven the giver's arms — a 
chevron between three talbots' heads erased, — with the 
following inscription : ' The gift of Sir Charles Dun- 
comb, Knight, Lord Mayor, and Alderman of this Ward. 
Langley Bradley fecit, 1709/ The same liberal Citizen 
also presented the modern fane of St. Magnus with an 
organ, of which the ' Spectator,' of February the 8th, 
1712, thus speaks : 4 Whereas Mr. Abraham Jordan, 
senior and junior, have with their own hands, joynery 
excepted, made and erected a very large organ in St. 
Magnus' Church, at the foot of London Bridge, con- 
sisting of four sets of keys, one of which is adapted to 
the art of emitting sounds by swelling notes, which 
never w T as in any organ before ; this instrument will be 
publicly opened on Sunday next ; the performance by 
Mr. John Robinson. The above- said Abraham Jordan 
gives notice to all masters and performers, that he will 
attend every day next week at the said Church, to 
accommodate all those gentlemen who shall have a cu- 
riosity to hear it/ I will conclude those notices by refer- 
ring you to Malcolm's 'Londinum Redivivum,' vol. iv., 



1666/] LONDON BRIDGE. 337 

pp. 30 — 35, where you will find several other particulars 
concerning St. Magnus. 

" Upon the rebuilding of London, after the Great Fire, 
it was the proposal of Sir Christopher Wren to form a 
grand quay, or esplanade, from the foot of London Bridge 
to the Temple ; of which scheme there is the fullest 
information, from an original manuscript, in Mr. Elmes's 
' Memoirs,' pp. 2?0 to 284, Notes, It was proposed that 
the Quay should be 40 feet in width, between the Thames 
and the houses on its banks * and, in the year 1670, a 
petition from the inhabitants of this part of London was 
presented to the Privy Council, stating that it would be 
of great detriment to them if such way or wharf should 
not be carried into effect, from London Bridge to Bride- 
well Dock, the petitioners having commenced their several 
houses near the Bridge, as well as the pipes and engines 
of the Water-House. Of the ancient Water-House at 
this place, I have already given you some idea ; but 1 
may observe, from the authority last cited, that its sup- 
plies were constantly defiled by the public drains, and 
other offensive buildings erected upon this spot. Not- 
withstanding that the Commissioners of Sewers had 
ordered their removal, and the King's Surveyor General 
had directed that no such contagious places should be 
constructed here, even so late as 1670 they had been 
again renewed, polluting both the water and the passage 
across the Thames. In consequence of the petition, Sir 
Christopher Wren, assisted by the City Surveyors, 
inspected the whole line of the intended wharf; and his 
report was : — That the houses then begun to be built 
fronting the Thames, which were not a third in number 
of what the range would contain, were, in general, con- 
formable to the act, as to their being 40 feet distant from 
the River, and that some of them towards the Bridge 
were not ungraceful, but that others were unequally low, 
and, as well as the warehouses, irregularly built ; whilst 
some habitations were constructed only of board. The 
z 



838 CHRONICLES OP £a. D. 

Quay between the row of houses and the River, which 
should have been left open for passage, was everywhere 
enclosed either with pales or brick walls ; and covered 
with stacks of timber, faggots, and coals. The cranes 
erected West of the Bridge, he states to be unhandsome, 
and larger than were required, boarded down to the 
ground, and having warehouses beneneath them. The 
old towers of Baynard's Castle, he observes, were also 
still standing upon the wharf ; the walls, wharfings, and 
landing-stairs, were, for the most part, unrepaired ; and, 
in some places, the Quay was likely to be broken by 
bridges and docks. Sir Christopher's report also men- 
tions numerous other obstacles, in consequence of which, 
their immediate removal was ordered, and the construc- 
tion of the Quay directed, by an Act of Parliament, in 
the 22nd of Charles II., 1670, c. II. sec. xliv. — xlix. ; 
as well as by a patent passed in the year following. 

w The impediments to this design, however, were 
never entirely removed ; and, in modern times, their 
number has considerably increased. Of these, Calvert's 
Brewery is one of the most prominent, which is supposed 
to occupy the exact site of the mansion anciently called 
Cold Harbour ; where it now forms the two sides of 
Champion-lane, formerly called Quay- Wharf-lane, 
which, with All-hallows and Red-bull lanes, was once 
open to the river. The last important remains of Sir 
Christopher s grand Civic esplanade was shown in a line 
of wharf 40 feet in width, and extending from London 
Bridge to the Steelyard, entitled New Quay; and it 
may be seen in the plans in Strype's 6 Stow's Survey/ 
vol. i., pp. 486, 510 ; and in Maitland's 6 History,' vol.ii., 
pp. 700, 1046. 

" The Act of Parliament which I have recently cited, 
also contains a very considerable portion of information 
relative to the new buildings of London; and from 
section liii. we learn, that the Water-House at London 
Bridge was not renewed at the time of its being passed, 



1666.^ LONDON BRIDGE. 339 

though in the Act for rebuilding London, passed in 1667, 
the 19th of Charles II., chap. 3, sect, xli., it is ordained: 
' that it shall and may be lawful for the Water-House, 
called Mr. Thomas Morris his Water-House, formerly 
adjoining to London Bridge, to be rebuilt upon the place 
it formerly stood, with timber, for the supplying the 
South side of the City with water, as it for almost an 
hundred years hath done.' Most of the ancient engrav- 
ings of London Bridge, after the Fire, present us with a 
view of this Water- House, by which it appears that it 
was a lofty narrow wooden building, standing close to 
the North West corner of the Bridge. On its Western 
side, a flight of stairs led down to the river ; and its 
front looked on to the wooden stage which supported 
the Water- works. Strype, in his c Stow's Survey,' vol. i. 
p. 500, says, that 6 by wheels, iron chains, &c, it drinketh, 
or rather forceth up water through leaden pipes to the 
top, where there is a cistern, and from thence descendeth 
in other leaden pipes to the bottom, and thence, received 
by other pipes, is conveyed under the pavements of the 
streets, and so serveth many families in this part of the 
City with water; who have branches, or small pipes, 
laid from the main ones unto their houses, to their great 
convenience, and no small profit to the City/ In the 
very amusing 4 Voyages ' of Mons. Aubri De la Motraye, 
Hague, 1727-32, fol., vol. iii., pp. 360-362, and plate iv., 
we have an engraving of the interior mechanism of a 
public fire-engine erected near this building, with an 
account of the means employed in it for raising of the 
water. One of the most picturesque and interesting 
representations of this modern Water-House at Lon- 
don Bridge {see the engraving on the next page) 
is contained in a series of five views by S. and N. Buck, 
which forms a sort of panoramic prospect of London, 
from Westminster to below the Tower ; each being taken 
from a different point of observation. They are dated 
September the 11th, 1749, and the Bridge as it then 
z2 



340 CHRONICLES OP [a. B. 

appeared, covered with buildings, forms a very prominent 
feature. I have to add only, that you will find a set of 
these prints in volume xiii. of Mr. Crowles Illustrated 
Pennant in the British Museum/' 




'' Well, Master Barnaby," said I, as well as I was able 
for yawning, " though you can find no more to say about 
this Water-House, I must add a few fragments which 
would otherwise be lost ; even as the song says, 

4 Mister Speaker, though 'tis late, 
/ must lengthen the debate.' 

I have been informed, upon the evidence of a very 
ancient servant of the present London Bridge, that the 
water rose in this Tower to the height of 128 feet, 
through a pipe of 12 inches in calibre, often bringing 
very fine fish up with it; and that from beneath the 
cistern at the top, issued nine main pipes which supplied 
all London. As the particular direction of each of these 



1669,] LONDON BRIDGE. 341 

pipes was, of course, entirely different, in the event of a 
fire all of them were stopped, excepting the one which 
led immediately through that district; and thus the 
whole weight of water was thrown towards any place 
desired. From the same source, I have also received a 
curious and ver}^ particular drawing upon vellum, in 
colours, representing the North end of London Bridge, 
the Water- House and works, and the directions of the 
pipes issuing therefrom, taken from actual measurement, 
and executed, as I should suppose, before the fire by 
which they were destroyed, on Sunday, October the 
31st, 1779 ; but this view shall be referred to hereafter. 
The fire to which I have alluded, brake out in the 
warehouse of Messrs. Judd and Sanderson, Hop Mer- 
chants, at the foot of London Bridge, and having speedily 
communicated to the Water- works, in less than an hour 
they were reduced nearly to a level with the river.- The 
wooden Water-tower having been pitched but a few days 
before, all the efforts of its engines were, therefore, 
ineffectual. But enough of water, Mr. Postern : what 
say you to another draught of sack, and then another 
spell at the history of London Bridge itself?" 

" I like your motion mightily," replied my companion, 
" and, once more, here's your health. In speaking of 
the Great Fire of London, its consequences, and the new 
buildings to which it gave birth, I have brought forward 
many fragments of our Bridge annals, and anticipated 
several events, because I wished to draw my information 
as much as possible into one focus. We next pass to the 
year 1669, though I should not mention to you the short 
notice of London Bridge by Lorenzo Magalotti, which 
occurs in ' The Travels of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of 
Tuscany, through England, during the reign of King 
Charles II., 1669,' London, 1821, quarto; but that it 
affords something like a proof that the destruction occa- 
sioned by the Fire of London was not extensive, so far as 



342 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

it regarded this building, which by that time seems to 
have been repaired. You will find the passage at page 
317, and it runs thus. ' On the morning of the 27th' — 
of May, — •' after hearing Mass, his Highness went through 
the City as far as London Bridge, on which are erected 
many large buildings, almost half of which escaped the 
fire there ; and those which were consumed have been 
rebuilt of smaller size, the upper part being used, as 
dwellings, and the lower part as Mercers' shops, all of 
which are abundantly filled with goods of various sorts. 
We crossed the Bridge with some difficulty, owing to 
the number of carts which are constantly passing and re- 
passing/ He then proceeds to speak of the Marshalsea, 
the prisoners of which, he adds, have liberty to take a 
walk over the Bridge, their promise being first taken that 
they will not pass the limits, which they very rarely 
infringe. 

" Having mentioned to you, Mr. Geoffrey, several 
famous Frosts which occurred in the earlier periods of our 
history, I must not omit to notice that which overspread 
the Thames from the beginning of December, 1683, until 
the 5th of February, 1684. 4 It congealed the River 
Thames/ — says Maitland, in his ' History/ vol. i. p. 484, 
— c to that degree, that another City, as it were, was 
erected thereon ; where, by the great number of streets, 
and shops, with their rich furniture, it represented a great 
fair, with a variety of carriages, and diversions of all sorts ; 
and, near Whitehall, a whole ox was roasted on the ice/ 
Evelyn, however, who was an eye-witness of this scene, 
furnishes the most extraordinary account of it in his 
\ Diary/ vol. i. p. 568 ; where, on January the 24th ? 
1684, he observes that ' the frost continuing more and 
more severe, the Thames before London was still planted 
with boothes in formal streetes, all sorts of trades and 
shops furnish'd, and full of commodities, even to a print- 
iug-presse, where the people and ladyes took a fancy to 



1683.] LONDON BRIDGE. 343 

have their names printed, and the day and yeare set 
down when printed on the Thames : this humour tooke 
so universally, that 'twas estimated the printer gain'd 
51. a day, for printing a line only, at sixpence a name, 
besides what he got by ballads, &c. Coaches plied from 
Westminster to the Temple, and from several other staires 
to and fro, as in the streetes ; sleds, sliding with skeetes, 
a bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet-plays, and 
interludes, cookes, tipling, and other lewd places, so that 
it seem'd to be a bacchanalian triumph, or carnival on 
the water/ " 

" It is singular, Master Postern," said I, as he finished 
this extract, " that the author whom you have now 
quoted, never once mentions that King Charles the Se- 
cond visited these diversions, and even had his name 
printed on the ice, with those of several other personages 
of the Royal Family. The author of some curious 
verses, entitled, c Thamasis's Advice to the Painter, from 
her Frigid Zone; or Wonders upon the Water. Lon- 
don : Printed by G. Croom, on the River of Thames,' 74 
lines, small folio, half sheet, says, 

' Then draw the King, who on his Leads doth stay, 
To see the Throng as on a Lord Mayor's day, 
And thus unto his Nobles pleas'd to say ; 
With these Men on this Ice^ I'd undertake 
To cause the Turk all Europe to forsake : 
An Army of these Men, arm'd and compleat, 
"Would soon the Turk in Christendom defeat.' 

" The original of this poem is in the possession of 
my friend, Mr. William Upcott, of the London Institu- 
tion, whose invaluable collection of rarities can also 
boast one of the very papers on which the King and his 
royal companions had their names printed ! This truly 
interesting document consists of a quarter sheet of 
coarse Dutch paper, on which, within a type border, 
measuring 3i inches by 4, are the magnificent names of 



344 CHRONICLES OF [a. J>, 



m CHARLES, KING. 

JAMES, DUKE. 



* 



KATHARINE, QUEEN. 
MARY, DUTCHESS. 
ANN, PRINCESSE. 
GEORGE, PRINCE. 
HANS IN KELDER. 



London : Printed by G. Croom, on the ICE, on 
the River of Thames, January 31, 1684. 



" Here, then, we have King Charles the Second ; his 
brother James, Duke of York, afterwards James the 
Second ; Queen Catherine, Infanta of Portugal ; Mary 
D'Este, sister of Francis, Duke of Modena, James's 
Second Duchess ; the Princess Anne, second daughter of 
the Duke of York, afterwards Queen Anne ; and her 
husband, Prince George of Denmark : and the last name, 
which I think was doubtless" a touch of the King's 
humour, signifies 4 Jack in the Cellar,' alluding to the 
pregnant situation of Anne of Denmark. This most 
remarkable paper may, with great probability, be consi- 
dered unique ; and not to mention several of a similar 
nature containing common names, I may notice to you 
that there is in the same collection another bearing the 
noble titles of 4 Henry, Earl of Clarendon,' son of the 
Chancellor; ' Flora, Countess of Clarendon/ and < Ed- 
ward, Lord Cornbury/ The date of this is February 2, 
and I will conclude these notices of printing on the ice, 
by some lines from the poem I have already quoted, 
which tell its readers 



to the Print-house go, 



Where Men the Art of Printing soon do know : 



1684.] LONDON BRIDGE. 345 

Where, for a Teaster, you may have your Name 

Printed, hereafter for to shew the same ; 

And sure, in former Ages, ne'er was found, 

A Press to print, where men so oft were dround!' " 

"I am very much bounden to you, honest Mr. Geoffrey," 
recommenced the Antiquary, as I concluded, " for these 
most appropriate and interesting illustrations: for although 
the sports of this frost can hardly be said to form an 
immediate portion of the history of London Bridge, yet 
so memorable an event on the Thames well deserves 
some pains to be bestowed in recording it. 

" The principal scene of this Blanket- Fair, indeed,— 
for so the tents and sports on the Thames were denomi- 
nated, — was opposite to the Temple stairs, for few, or 
none, of the festivities approached very near to London 
Bridge; as we are informed by the many rude but curi- 
ous memorials of it which are yet in existence. One of 
the most interesting of these is an original and spirited, 
though unfinished, sketch in pencil, slightly shaded with 
Indian ink ; supposed to have been the production of 
Thomas Wyck, an artist particularly eminent for his 
views at this period. In the right hand corner, at the 
top, the drawing is dated in an ancient hand, ' Munday, 
February the 4 : 1683-4 ;' and it consists of a view down 
the River from the Temple-stairs to London Bridge, the 
buildings of which are faintly seen in the back-ground. 
In front appear various groups of figures, and a side 
prospect of that line of tents which stretched all across 
the Thames, known during the frost by the name of 
Temple-street. You will find this drawing in vol. viii. 
of Mr. Crowle's Illustrated Pennant, in the British Mu- 
seum, after p. 262 ; and it measures 28 inches by 9f . 
Gough, in his 4 British Topography/ vol. i., pp. 731, 
784*, mentions several other publications illustrative of 
this frost, some of which are also in the same volume of 
Mr. Crowle's Pennant, and the principal particulars of 
them I shall give you briefly in the following list. 



346 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

" A large copper-plate, 20J inches by 16J-, entitled, * A Map of 
the River Thames, merrily calPd Blanket Fair, as it was frozen in 
the memorable year 1683-4, describing the booths, footpaths, 
coaches, sledges, bull-baiting, and other remarks upon that famous 
river.' Dedicated to Sir Henry Hulse, Knt. and Lord Mayor, by 
James Moxon, the Engraver, 

" A large and coarse engraving on wood, representing the sports, 
tents, and buildings on the ice, taken from opposite the Temple 
buildings, which are shown in the back-ground ; beneath are 106 
lines of very inferior verse, and the title : — ( A true description of 
Blanket-Fair, upon the River Thames, in the time of the great 
Frost, in the year of our Lord 1683/ Broadside sheet, 12 J inches 
by 16 J. 

" ' Wonders on the deep, or the most exact description of the 
frozen river of Thames; also what was remarkably observed 
thereon in the last great frost, which began about the middle of 
December, 1683, and ended the 8th of February following : to- 
gether with a brief Chronology of all the memorable strong frosts 
for almost 60 years, and what happened in the Northern kingdoms/ 
A wood-cut. 

" ' A wonderfull fair, or a fair of wonders ; being a new and 
true illustration and description of the several things acted and 
done on the river of Thames in the time of the terrible frost, which 
began about the beginning of Dec. 1683, and continued till Feb. 4, 
and held on with such violence that men and beasts, coaches and 
sledges, went common thereon. There was also a street of booths 
from the Temple to South wark, where was sold all sorts of goods : 
likewise bull-baiting, and an ox roasted whole, and many other 
things, as the map and description do plainly show.' Engraved 
and printed on a sheet, 1684. 

" A volume of coarse and worthless narratives, entitled, • An 
historical account of the Late Great Frost, in which are discovered, 
in several Comical Relations, the various Humours, Loves, Cheats, 
and Intreagues of the Town, as the same were managed upon the 
River of Thames during that season.' London, 1684. 12mo. 

" * Freezland-Fair, or the Icey Bear Garden/ 1682. 

' c * News from the Thames ; or the frozen Thames in tears. 
January, 1683-4/ Half sheet ; folio. 

" ' A winter wonder, or the Thames frozen over ; with remarks 
on the resort there/ 1684. 

" ' A strange and wonderfull relation' of many remarkable 
damages sustained, both at sea and land, by the present unparalleled 
Frost/ London, 1684. Half sheet, small folio, 2 pages. 

" Notwithstanding the admiration with which London 



JG85.] LONDON BRIDGE. 347 

Bridge had long been regarded, on account of its appear- 
ance as an actual street over the Thames ; in 1685 its very 
confined limits seem to haver attracted attention, and to 
have produced at least somewhat of reformation. There 
is a tradition extant, thougTi I have not as yet been able 
to trace it to any printed authority, that the cross over 
the dome of St. Paul's having been cast in Southwark, 
the street of London Bridge was too narrow, and its 
numerous arches too low, to allow of it being that way 
brought into the City : and Hatton, in his ' New View 
of London,' vol. ii., p. 791, shows us that in his time the 
enlarging of the Bridge was recorded upon the North side 
of the Nonesuch House, in the following inscription : — 

4 Anno MDCLXXXV., et primo Jacobi II. Regis, 

This Street was opened and enlarged from 12, to the 
width of 20 foot : 

Sir James Smith, Knight, Lord Mayor.' 

" Even until the time, however, when London Bridge 
was entirely cleared of its houses, the street over it has 
always been described as dark, narrow, and dangerous. 
' The houses on each side/ — says Pennant, p. 320, — 
c overhung, and leaned in a most terrific manner. In 
most places they hid the arches, and nothing appeared 
but the rude piers. — I well remember the street on Lon- 
don Bridge, narrow, darksome, and dangerous to passen- 
gers, from the multitude of carriages : frequent arches of 
strong timber crossing the street,from the tops of the houses 
to keep them together, and from falling into the river. 
Nothing but use could preserve the repose of the inmates, 
who soon grew deaf to the noise of falling waters, the 
clamors of watermen, or the frequent shrieks of drown- 
ing wretches. Most of the houses were tenanted by pin 
or needle-makers, and economical ladies were wont to 
drive from the St. James's end of the town to make cheap 
purchases.' 

" The c New and Universal History, Description, and 



348 CHRONICLES OF |~A. D. 

Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, the 
Borough of South wark, and their adjacent parts/ by 
Walter Harrison, Lond. 1776, folio, furnishes some few 
additional features to this scene : although the work itself 
is, perhaps, anything but reputable ; being chiefly a com- 
pilation from Stow and Strype, without much acknow- 
ledgment of the originals. Some particulars of London 
Bridge, however, the compiler himself actually knew, 
and on p. 24, he says, — fc Across the middle of the street 
there were several lofty arches, extending from one side 
to the other, the bottom part of each arch terminating at 
the first story, and the upper part reaching near the top 
of the buildings. These arches were designed to support 
the houses on each side the street, and were therefore 
formed of strong timbers bolted into the houses, which, 
being covered with lath and plaster, appeared as if built 
with stone. 3 The Rev. J. Motley, in his c Seymour's 
Survey of London/ vol. i. p. 48, also says, — ; On each 
side, between the houses, are left three vacancies opposite 
to each other, two with stone walls, upon which are iron 
rails, that people passing along may take a view of the 
river East and West, and may also step out of the way 
of carts and coaches, the passage being formerly very 
narrow, and the floors of the houses that lay across the 
streets being low, they not only rendered those places 
dark, but likewise obstructed the free passage of carts, if 
they were loaded any way high, and coaches, so that they 
could not pass by one another, which oftentimes occa- 
sioned great stops upon the Bridge, and was a great 
hindrance to passengers/ As there was no regular foot- 
way over the Bridge, it was therefore the most usual and 
safest custom to follow a carriage which might be pass- 
ing across it. The brief notice of London Bridge in 
Hoffman's ; Lexicon Universale' is not worth repeating, 
but you will find it in vol. iii., p. 833, col. i. character 
£ : and though a much better account of it in 1697 appears 
in Motraye's ' Voyages/ vol. L, p. 150, it contains nothing 



1603.] LONDON BRIDGE. 340 

new. He calls it ' one of the strongest buildings which 
he had seen in this nation. ' 

" A very melancholy instance of suicide which took 
place in April, 1680, bears testimony to the power of 
the torrent at London Bridge at that period ; and you 
will find it recorded in that very interesting work, entitled 
6 The Travels and Memoirs of Sir John Reresby, Baronet,' 
best edition, with a Preface by Edmund Lodge, Esq., 
London, 1813, 8vo, p. 406. — ' About this time,' — says 
the Author of this volume, — ' a very sad accident 
happened, which, for a while, was the discourse of the 
whole town : Mr. Temple, son to Sir William Temple, 
who had married a French lady with 20,000 pistoles ; a 
sedate and accomplished young gentleman, who had 
lately by King William been made Secretary of War ; 
took a pair of oars, and drawing near the Bridge, leapt 
into the Thames and drowned himself, leaving a note 
behind him in the boat, to this effect : My folly in under- 
taking what I could not perform, whereby some mis- 
fortunes have befallen the King's service, is the xause of 
my putting myself to this sudden end; I wish him 
success in all his undertakings, and a better servant.' 
Pennant, in repeating this anecdote in his ' Account of 
London,' p. 323, adds that it took place on the 14th of 
April ; that the unhappy suicide loaded his pockets with 
stones to destroy -all chance of safety; and that his 
father's false and profane reflection on the occasion was, 
6 that a wise man might dispose of himself, and make his 
life as short as he pleased !' 

" From a very remote period, the City of London has 
protected the persons and property of its Orphans ; and 
so early as the year 1391 the Orphans' Fund was 
possessed of very considerable wealth, since the sum of 
2000 marks, or 1333/. 6s. 8d., was then borrowed from 
it to procure corn during a dearth. In the year 1693, 
the City stood indebted to the same source, as well as to 
other creditors, in the amount of 747,500/., and an Act 



350 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

of Parliament was at length procured, establishing a fund 
for their re-payment ; by which all the City estates, 
excepting those belonging to the Hospitals, London Bridge, 
and such places as were liable to its repairs, were charged 
with raising the annual sum of 8000/. clear of all deduc- 
tions, as a perpetual deposit for paying an interest of 4 
per cent, to the said creditors. The act itself is in vol. iii. 
of Owen Ruffhead's fc Statutes at Large,' London, 1770, 
4to, the 5th of William and Mary, 1694, chap. x. sect. 2. 
In which year also, during the Mayoralty of Sir William 
Ashurst, the Common Council passed an Act, on 
Wednesday the 15th of June, that as the ensuing Mid- 
summer day, the time for delivering the Bridge-House 
accounts, would fall on a Sunday, for ever after, in such 
a case, they were to be delivered the next day following. 
An original copy of which Act is in the xxv.th volume 
of London Tracts in the British Museum, folio. 

" I have already mentioned several particulars of the 
Bridge- House revenues, and the salaries of the Wardens 
at various periods ; and I shall now show you the ancient 
estimation of several other offices of the same establish- 
ment. In the xxviii.th volume of London Tracts last 
cited, is a folio sheet, entitled s A List of the Rooms and 
Offices bought and sold in the City of London f the total 
amount of which is 145,586/. ; and there occur in it the 
following valuations of places belonging to the Bridge. 
6 1 Clerk of the Bridge-House, 1250/. — 2 Carpenters of 
the Bridge-House, 200/. each. — 1 Mason of the Bridge- 
House, 200/.— 1 Plasterer to the Bridge-House, 200/. — 
1 Pavier to the Bridge-House, 250/. — 1 Plummer to the 
Bridge-House, 250/. — 2 Porters of the Bridge-House, 
100/. each. — 1 Purveyor of the Bridge-House, 200/. — 
1 Shotsman of the Bridge-House, 200// The whole of 
this list is also printed in Motley's c Seymours Survey 
of London/ vol. i. p. 261 : and at the end of the original 
is the following note, more particularly fixing the time 
when these offices were held in such estimation. 'Where'- 



1701.] LONDON BRIDGE. 351 

as, James Whiston, in a late book, intituled c England's 
Calamities Discovered,' &c. — London, 1696, 4to, — 6 set 
forth the mischievous consequences of buying and selling 
places in Cities, States, and Kingdoms : and the discovery 
of the disease being the first step towards the cure ; for 
that end some persons, well-affected to the government 
of this City and Kingdom, have taken great pains to find 
out the number and value of y e places bought and sold 
within this City; which are to y e best information that 
can at present be got, as followeth.' — And now, pledge 
me once more, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, in a farewell 
libation to the seventeenth century, for this notice brings 
us down to the year 1701." 

" Marry, Sir, and I 'm heartily glad on't," said I, u for 
I began to be like honest Bunyan's Pilgrims on I the 
Enchanted Ground,' and to have much ado to keep my 
eyes open : but as I now really think there is some little 
prospect that your tale will have an end, I shall do mine 
endeavour to be wakeful during the next century and a 
quarter, which you have yet to lecture upon. And, in 
the meanwhile, like Peter the Ziegenhirt, in Otmar's 
German story, which gave Geoffrey Crayon the idea of 
Rip Van Winkle, I shall take another draught of the 
wine-pitcher ; and so once again, Mr. Barnaby, here's to 
you." 

" My most hearty thanks are yours," replied he, " and 
let me add, for your consolation, that I really have com- 
paratively but little to say in the next century ; for a 
great portion of it was occupied in doubting whether the 
Bridge would stand, in surveying its buildings, in repair- 
ing it, in disputing concerning the erection of a new one, 
in receiving the reports of architects, and in adopting 
schemes for its alteration. 

" The year 1701 may be considered as the important 
period, when the Water- works at London Bridge began 
to advance towards that extent and power at which they 
afterwards arrived. Peter Moris, the original inventor, 



352 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

had a lease from the City for 500 years, paying 10s. of 
yearly rent for the use of the Thames water, one arch of 
the Bridge, and a place on which he might erect his mill. 
The Citizens soon experiencing the benefit of his inven- 
tion, granted him, two years after, a similar lease for a 
second arch, by which his wealth considerably increased ; 
and, with various improvements, the property continued 
in his family until this time, when the proprietor finding 
his profits lessened by the works at the New River, it 
was sold to one Richard Soams, Citizen and Goldsmith, 
for 36,000/. That it might be the more secure, Soams 
procured from the City, in confirmation of his bargain, 
another grant for the fourth arch, — the third belonging 
to a wharfinger,--- and a new lease of the unexpired term, 
at the yearly rent of 20s., and a fine of 300/. He then 
divided the whole property into 300 shares of 500/. each, 
and formed it into a company ; all which information 
you will find in Strype's ' Stow's Survey/ vol. i. p. 29 ; 
and in Maitland's ' History,' vol. i. p. 51, 52. Subse- 
quently, however, a fifth arch was granted by the Court 
of Common Council, after a long debate, on June the 
23d, 1767 ; under an express condition that if, at any 
time, it should be found injurious to the navigation of the 
river, the City might revoke their grant, upon repayment 
of the expenses. A particular description of these works, 
which I shall speak of hereafter, will be found in the 
4 Philosophical Transactions, vol. xxxvii. for the years 
1731, 1732/ London, 1733, 4to, No. 417, pp. 5—12, 
written by Henry Beighton, with a plate, of which I 
possess the original drawing, executed very carefully in 
pen-and-ink. 

" The earliest view of London Bridge in this century, 
I take to be that very barbarous print by Sutton Nicholls, 
an Engraver who resided in London, about the year 1710, 
was much employed by the booksellers, and who executed 
several of the plates in Strype's edition of ' Stow's Survey/ 
His prospect of the Bridge is a large and coarse engraving 



1710.] LONDON BRIDGE. 353 

in two sheets, measuring 35 inches by 22^, and is divided 
lengthways into two parts ; the upper one entitled ' The 
West side of London Bridge/ on a ribbon, and the lower 
one the Eastern side, in the same manner. Both of these 
views are horizontal, and of most execrable drawing, 
especially with respect to the water and vessels ; and the 
Print seldom produces more than a few shillings, though 
I should observe that there are two editions of it. One 
bearing the imprint of ' Printed for and Sold by I. Smith, 
in Exeter Exchange in the Strand/ which is the earliest 
and best ; and another marked ' Printed for, and Sold by, 
Tho. Millward and Bis. Dickinson, at Inigo Jones Head, 
next the Globe Tavern, hi Fleet Street ;' which latter is 
probably still in existence, as impressions of it are by no 
means rare. Below the views are engraven, ' An His- 
torical Description of the great and admirable Bridge in 
the City of London over the River of Thames/ and 
Howell's verses, which I have already cited to you. But 
although its present value is so trifling, it is yet far 
beyond the original price of it, for in the Harleian MSS., 
No. 5956, is an impression of the following curious original 
copper-plate Prospectus for its publication : — 

" ' Proposals for Printing a Prospect of London Bridge, Thirty- 
five Inches Long, and Twenty-three Inches Broad. 

u i 1st. Every Subscriber paying half a Crown at the time of 
subscription, shall have a Prospect pasted on Cloath in a Black 
Frame, paying half a Crown more at the receipt thereof. 

" ' 2dly. Every Subscriber paying one shilling at the time of 
subscription, shall have one of the Prospects on Paper only, paying 
one shilling more at the receipt thereof. 

" ' 3dly. He that subscribes, or procures subscriptions, for six 
framed ones, shall have a seventh in a Frame, Gratis ; and he that 
subscribes, or procures subscriptions, for six in sheets, shall have a 
seventh in sheets, Gratis. 

" ' 4thly. Any person that desires it, may see a Drawing of the 
same in the hands of Sutton Nicholls, Ingraver, against the George 
Inn, in Aldersgate Street, London, where subscriptions are taken 
in. At the same place is taught the Art of Drawing, by Sight, 
Measure, or Instrument ; also the Art of Writing : Prints and 
Mapps, Surveys, Ground Plotts, Uprights, and Perspectives, are 
A A 



354 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

there Drawn and Coloured at reasonable rates/ This view of 
London Bridge is mentioned by Gough, in his ' British Topography,' 
vol. i. p. 734. 

" Although the Thames was again frozen over at in- 
tervals in the year 1709, and some persons crossed it on 
the ice, yet the frost was neither so intense nor so per- 
manent as to cause another fair ; though, in the illustrated 
Pennant in the British Museum, there is an impression 
of a coarse hill, within a woodcut horder of rural subjects, 
containing the words ' Mr. John Heaton, Printed on the 
Thames at Westminster, Jan. the 7th, 1709. The Art 
and Mystery of Printing first invented by John Guttem- 
berg, in Harlem, in 1440, and brought into England by 
John Islip/ 7 inches by 5§. 

" About the end of November 1715, however, a very 
severe frost commenced, which continued until the 9th 
of the following February, when the sports of 1683 were 
all renewed; but of this I shall mention only the few 
curious memorials of it to be found in Mr. Crowle's 
London collections in the British Museum. 

" A copper-plate, six inches by 7^ 5 representing a view 
of London from the opposite shore, with London Bridge 
on the right hand, and a line of tents on the left, leading 
from 4 Temple Stairs/ In front, another line of tents 
marked ' Thames Street,' and the various sports, &c. 
before them : below the print are alphabetical references, 
with the words 6 Printed on the Thames 17t- t ; ' and 
above it, ' Frost Fair on the River Thames/ 

" A copper-plate, 16 inches by 20^, representing Lon- 
don at St. Paul's, with the tents, &c, and with alpha- 
betical references ; ' Printed and Sold by John Bowles, 
at the Black Horse, in Cornhill/ In the right hand 
corner above, the arms and supporters of the City ; and 
in the left, a cartouche with the words— 

*' l Frost Fayre, "being a True Prospect of the Great Varietie of 
Shops and Booths for Tradesmen, with other curiosities and humors, 
on the Frozen River of Thames, as it appeared before the City of 



1722. ~2 LONDON BRIDGE. 355 

London, in that memorable Frost in ye second year of the Reigne 
of Our Sovereigne Lord King George, Anno Domini 3 716.' 

" ' Frost Fair ; or a View of the Booths on the frozen Thames, 
in the 2nd Year of King George, 1716.' A wood-cut. 

" ^An exact and lively view of the booths, and all the variety 
of shows, &c. on the ice, with an alphabetical explanation of the 
most remarkable figures, 1716.' A copper-plate. 

" In the year 1716, a very remarkable phenomenon 
occurred at London Bridge, when, in consequence of the 
long drought, the stream of the River Thames was re- 
duced so low, and, from the effects of a violent gale of 
wind, at West- South- West, was blown so dry, that many 
thousands of people passed it on foot, both above and 
below the Bridge, and through most of the arches. 
Strype, in his edition of S tow's ' Survey,' vol. i. p. 58, 
states, that he was an eye-witness to this event ; and 
observes that, on September 14th, the channel in the 
middle of the River was scarcely ten yards wide, and 
very shallow ; the violence of the wind having prevented 
the tide from coming up for the space of four-and-twenty 
hours. Whilst the Thames remained in this state, 
many interesting observations were made on the con- 
struction and foundation of London Bridge ; and the 
" Weekly Packet/ from September the 15th to September 
the 22d, states, that a silver tankard, a gold ring, a 
guinea, and several other things which had been lost 
there, were then taken up. 

" The author of ' Wine and Walnuts,' in one of his 
chapters which relate to this edifice, vol. ii. p. 112, 
gives a few notices of a feast held upon it in April, 1722, 
whilst some repairs were carrying on about the Draw- 
Bridge : and states, that it being settled that the Bridge 
should be shut on the Saturday and Sunday, the old 
street was empty and silent ; tables were set out in the 
highway, where, besides the residents, several of the 
wealthy tradesmen in the vicinity sat drinking through 
the afternoon ; that they might be enabled to say — adds 
Malcolm — who notices the circumstance in his ( Anec- 
a a 2 



356 CHRONICLES OF ^A.D. 

dotes of the Manners and Customs of London during the 
Eighteenth Century,' London, 1808, 4to, vol. ii. p. 233, 
— ' however crowded the Bridge is, I have drunk punch 
upon it for great part of a day/ Though I do not find 
this festivity recorded in any of the public prints, yet in 
the ' Daily Courant' for Friday, April the 13th, 1722, 
is a notice from the Wardens of London Bridge, that the 
Draw-Bridge Lock, through which hoys, lighters, and 
other vessels usually passed, would be boomed up on the 
following Wednesday, the 18th, for repairing; whilst in 
the same paper for Friday, April the 20th, a second 
notice appeared, that on Saturday, the 12th of May, 
between the hours of 9 and 10 in the evening, the Draw- 
Bridge itself would be taken up in order to lay down a 
new one, which was completed by the Thursday follow- 
ing. At the same time, the Rulers of the Company of 
Watermen issued a notice, that the Stairs at Pepper 
Alley would be dangerous during the repairs ; and that 
persons were requested to take water higher up the 
River. It is also stated in the ' Daily Post' of Tuesday, 
May the 15th, that the new Draw-Bridge was to be con- 
siderably stronger than the old one, both in wood and 
iron ; and that the former had been laid down in the 
Whitsun holidays, exactly fifty years previously, on 
May the 12 th, 1672, the w T ork being completed in five 
days. 

" About the end of the seventeenth century, the im- 
provement of the passage over London Bridge seems to 
have been actively considered, if not executed: for in 
1697, the 8th and 9th year of William III., (chap, 
xxxvii.,) an Act was passed concerning the Streets in 
London, Westminster, South wark, &c, ' and for widen- 
ing the Street at the South end of London Bridge.' In 
section 8 of which, it is stated that c the Corporation of 
London have of late years, with great charge and diffi- 
culty, pulled down and new built all the houses upon 
London Bridge, and caused the street or common pas- 



1/25.] LONDON BRIDGE. 35 7 

sage over the same to be opened and enlarged ; which 
good and public intention is not yet perfected, by reason 
of certain tenements on or near the South end of the 
Bridge, which yet continue a great hindrance to com- 
merce by occasioning frequent stops, and endangering 
the lives of many passengers.' Commissioners are then 
appointed to treat with the owners of such houses, as 
they shall think fit to be pulled down. See the Act it- 
self in RufFhead's ' Statutes at Large,' vol. iii. p. 687. 
Again, in the year 1722, during the Mayoralty of Sir 
Gerard Conyers, an Act was issued by the Corporation 
of the City, for preserving the passage of the Bridge free, 
which you may read at length in Motley's ' Seymours 
Survey,' vol. i. p. 49 : it ordains that there shall be three 
persons, appointed by the Governors of Christ's Hospital, 
the inhabitants of Bridge Ward Within, and the Bridge- 
masters, to give daily attendance at each end of the 
Bridge. Their duty being, to oblige all carriages com- 
ing from Southwark to keep the West side, and others 
the contrary ; and to prevent any cart from standing 
across the Bridge to load or unload. It was also ordered, 
that the Toll Collector — whose station was in the present 
Watch House, at the North-west corner of the Bridge, 
— should collect the duties without delay ; and, in 1723, 
they were ' For every cart or waggon with shod wheels, 
M. ; For a dray with five barrels, Id. ; For every pipe 
or butt, Id. ; For a ton of any goods, 2d. ; For any 
thing less than a ton, Id. ; which order was directed to 
be printed and published in the most public places within 
the City, and upon London Bridge itself. I may merely 
add, that Maitland tells us in his i History,' vol. i. p. 48, 
that in l72o, when it was proposed to erect a Bridge at 
Westminster, Mr. Henry Garbrand, the Deputy Comp- 
troller of London Bridge, and Mr. Bartholomew Spar- 
ruck, the Water Carpenter, measured the River at this 
building, and found it to be 9 1 5 feet 1 inch in breadth ; 
the height of the Bridge, 43 feet 7 inches ; the width of 



858 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the street, 20 feet ; and the depth of the houses on each 
side, 53 feet, or 73 feet in the whole. One of the last 
fires which happened on London Bridge, took place on 
the 8th of September in this year, during the Mayoralty 
of Sir George Mertins, Knight ; and, as Motley tells us, 
in his ' Seymour's Survey/ vol. i. p. 49, commenced at 
the house of a brush-maker, near St. Olave's, Tooley 
Street, through the carelessness of a servant. It burned 
down all the houses on that side of the way as far as the 
Bridge- Gate, with several of the buildings on the other ; 
and ' Mist's Weekly Journal,' of Saturday, September 
the 11th, describes it in the following words : — ' On 
Wednesday night, between eleven and twelve o'clock, a 
fire broke out at a Haberdashers of Hats, on the Bridge 
foot in Southwark, which burnt on both sides of the way 
with great violence for four or fiye hours. We hear that 
about sixty houses are consumed, some upon the first 
and second arch of the Bridge ; and had it not been for 
the stone gate which stopp'd the fire very much, the rest 
of the houses on the Bridge had in all likelyhood been 
down : the Bridge for some time was, by the fall of the 
timber and rubbish, render'd impassable for coaches, 
waggons, and carts, which were oblig'd to cross over at 
Lambeth Ferry. The damage done amounts to many 
thousands of pounds, but no just computation can yet be 
made/ The old Bridge- Gate was so much damaged by 
this conflagration, that in 1726 it was taken down and 
re-built, being finished in the year 1728. The New 
South Gate on London Bridge {see engraving opposite) 
was furnished with two posterns for foot-passengers, and 
was decorated with the Royal Arms, under which was 
inscribed, ' This Gate was widened from eleven to eighteen 
feet, in the Mayoralty of Sir Edward Beecher, Knight, 
S. P. Q. L/ The medalet, with a representation of this 
edifice, I have already mentioned to you, and it may now 
be stated that it was taken down in the year 1760, with 
all the other buildings on the Bridge, and the materials 



1726.] LONDON BRIDGE. 359 

sold by auction. At which sale, the fine old sculpture 
of the Royal Arms was bought, with some other articles, 
by a Mr. Williams, a stone-mason of Tooley Street ; who 
being soon after employed to take down the gateway at 
Axe and Bottle Yard, and to form the present King 
Street, in the Borough, introduced several of the old 




Bridge materials in erecting it. The ancient Royal Arms, 
too, are yet to be seen on the front of a small public- 
house, on the right-hand side of the Western end of the 
same street, between the numbers 4 and 67 ; with the 
inscription ' G. III. R. 1760, King Street,' carved around 
them. Mr. Williams also bought several of the facing 
stones of the old London Bridge, of which he built a very 
curious house, the roof being of the same stone, and 
which, about three years since, was standing in Lock's 
Fields, near Prospect Row, Newington, usually known 



360 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

by the name of i Williams's Folly/ The new Bridge - 
Gate stood near the corner of Pepper Alley Stairs, and 
you will find a representation of it in the Frontispiece to 
the first volume of Maitland's c History/ I imagine, that 
upon the removal of the old gate, the custom of erecting 
the heads of traitors there was discontinued, as I find no 
subsequent notice of it ; and the last heads which, pro- 
bably, were placed upon its towers, are said to have been 
those of the Regicides in 1661, as I have shown from 
Monconys, though, in the numerous pamphlets of their 
Trials, &c, I find no account of their being thus disposed. 
From 4 The Tray tors' Perspective Glass/ London, 1662, 
4to, we learn, however, that the heads of Cromwell and 
Ireton were set over Westminster Hall ; and of the others, 
it is said, c their heads, in several places, are become a 
spectacle both to angels and men, and a prey to birds of 
the air/ 

In Maitland's ' History/ vol. i. p. 49, we are furnished 
with c a brief state of the Bridge Account, from Lady- 
day 1726 to ditto 1727, by the Bridge- Masters, Matthew 
Snablin and John Web. 

' Charge. £ s. d. 
' By Money in the Bridge-Masters' hands, at the foot 

of the last Account ..... 576 9 9 

By ditto in the Tenants' hands in arrears . . 4271 13 3 

By the General Rental this year . . . 3299 5 

By Fines this Year 493 4 2 

By Casual Receipts . .... 267 6 8 



The whole charge . £8907 14 3 



4 Discharge, 

• To Rents and Quit-Rents 49 12 8 

To Taxes and Trophy-Money . . .. 209 14 3 

To Weekly Bills, Expenses, and Einptions . 1648 7 

To Timber and Boards . 430 18 9 

To Stones, Chalk, Lime, Terrass, and Bricks . 197 6 

To Iron-work 170 



Carried over . . 2705 12 3 





361 


. 2705 


12 3 


. 278 


8 


. 61 


5 


. 145 


6 8 


. 173 


7 


. 270 


4 


. 296 


2 


. 4977 


9 4 


^8907 


14 3 



1740.] LONDON BRIDGE. 

Brought forward 
To Plumber, Glazier, Painter, and Paviour 
To Shipwrights ' Work and Cordage 
* To Benevolence to the Lord Mayor, &c. 
To particular Payments by Order of Court 
To Fees and Salaries .... 
To Costs at Audit and Lady Fair 
To Monev due to balance 



On Wednesday, the 26th of December, 1739-40, 
commenced another Frost, the most severe which had 
occurred since 1716. The Thames, as we are told by 
the 4 Gentleman's Magazine,' of 1740, volume x. p. 35, 
January 31, floated with rocks and shoals of ice; and 
when they fixed, represented a snowy field, everywhere 
rising in masses and hills of ice and snow. Of this 
scene, several artists made sketches ; whilst tents and 
printing-presses were erected, and a complete Frost-fair 
was again held upon the River, over which multitudes 
walked, though some lost their lives by their rashness. 
It was in this fair that Doll, the Pippin-woman, whom 
I before mentioned, lost her life, as Gay relates it in the 
Second Book of his ' Trivia/ verses 375-392 ; the last 
line of which seems to be an imitation of that song 
which we formerly considered, and which was extremely 
popular even in the time of Gay himself. The passage 
I particularly allude to is this : 

? Doll every day had walk'd these treacherous roads ; 
Her neck grew warp'd beneath Autumnal loads 
Of various fruit : she now a basket bore ; 
That head, alas ! shall basket bear no more. 
Each booth she frequent pass'd, in quest of gain, 
And boys with pleasure heard her thrilling strain. 
Ah, Doll ! all mortals must resign their breath, 
And industry itself submit to death 1 
The crackling crystal yields ; she sinks, she dies, 
Her head, chopt off, from her lost shoulders flies ; 
Pippins she cried, but death her voice confounds, 
And pip— pip — pip, along the ice resounds.' 



3f)2 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

"Mr. J. T. Smith, in his 'Ancient Topography of 
London,' page 24, states that another remarkable cha- 
racter, called ' Tiddy Doll^ died in the same place and 
manner. 

" In the treasures of Mr. Crowle's Illustrated Pen- 
nant, are several contemporary memorials of this Fair ; 
which I shall very briefly mention, and give some spe- 
cimens of the poetry attached to them. 

tc A coarse copper-plate, entitled c The View of Frost Fair/ 10^ 
inches by 12, scene taken from York-buildings Water- Works ; 
twelve verses beneath. 

" A copper-plate, 1\ inches by 5, representing an altar-piece with 
the ten commandments, engraven between the figures of Moses and 
Aaron ; and beneath, on a cartouche, c Printed on the Ice on the 
River of Thames, Jan r y 15, 1739.' 

il A coarse copper-plate engraving, looking down the River, 
entitled ' Frost Fair,' with eight lines of verse beneath ; and above 
( Printed upon the River Thames when Frozen, Janu. the 28, 
173&.' 9£ inches by 12 J. 

a A copper-plate 5 inches by 8^, representing an ornamental 
border with a female head, crowned at the top ; and below, two 
designs of the letter-press and rolling press. In the centre in type, 
1 Upon the Frost in the year 1 739-40 ;' six verses, and then ' Mr. 
John Cross, aged 6. Printed on the Ice upon the Thames, at 
Queen-Hithe, January the 29th, 1739-40.' 

' Behold the Liquid Thames now frozen o'er ! 
That lately Ships of mighty Burden bore. 
Here You may Print your Name, tho' cannot Write, 
'Cause numb'd with Cold ; 'Tis done with great Delight. 
And lay it by ; That Ages yet to come 
May see what Things upon the Ice were done.' 

ci A copper-plate, representing a view of the Thames at West- 
minster, with the tents, sports, &c, and alphabetical references, 
entitled c Ice Fair. Printed on y e River Thames, now frozen over, 
Jan? 31, 3739-40; 7± inches by 12£. 

i Amidst ye arts y* on y e Thames appear, 
To tell y e Wonders of this frozen Year. 
Sculpture claims Prior place, since y* alone 
Preserves y e Image when y e Prospect's gone.' 

" An altered copy of these verses was printed upon 
the Thames in the great Frost of 1814 ; and from an 



1740.] LONDON BRIDGE. 363 

advertisement in the c London Daily Post' of Thursday, 
January the 31st, 1739-40, we learn that this and the 
following print were originally sold for Qd. each. 

<f A Copper-plate printed in red, 9^ inches by 13^-, the view taken 
opposite St. Paul's, with tents, sports, &c. in front, sixteen lines of 
verse beneath, with ' Frost and Ice Fair, shewing the diversions 
upon the River Thames, began the 26th of Decem r 1739-40, ended 
Febru 1 ? the 17th."' 

" In the beginning of this Frost, the houses on Lon- 
don Bridge appear to have received considerable damage, 
from the many vessels which broke from their moorings, 
and lay beating against them ; the notice of which we 
derive from the two most celebrated newspapers of the 
time, the 6 Daily Post/ and Woodfall's ' General Adver- 
tiser/ The latter of these, for Monday, December the 
31st, 1739, states that ' all the watermen above the 
Bridge have hauled their boats on shore, the Thames 
being very nigh frozen over / and in the same paper, 
for Wednesday, January 2nd, 1739-40, it is observed, 
that ' several vintners in the Strand bought a large Ox 
in Smithfield on Monday last, which is to be roasted 
whole on the ice on the River of Thames, if the Frost 
continues. Mr. Hodgeson, a Butcher in St. James's 
Market, claims the privilege of selling, or knocking 
down, the Beast, as a right inherent in his family, his 
Father having knocked down the Ox roasted on the 
River in the great Frost, 1684 ; as himself did that 
roasted in 1715, near Hungerford Stairs. The Beast is 
to be fixt to a stake in the open market, and Mr. 
Hodgeson comes dress'd in a rich lac'd cambric apron, a 
silver steel, and a Hat and Feathers, to perform the 
office/ After the mention of numerous accidents near 
London Bridge, the repetition of which would occupy 
considerable time with but little gratification, the ' Daily 
Post/ of Tuesday, January the 22nd, 1740, thus notices 
the first breaking-up of this famous frost. ' Yesterday 



364 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

morning, the inhabitants of the West prospect of the 
Bridge were presented with a very odd scene, for, on 
the opening of their windows, there appear d under- 
neath, on the River, a parcel of booths, shops, and huts, 
of different forms, and without any inhabitants, which, 
it seems, by the swell of the waters and the ice separat- , 
ing, had been brought down from above. As no lives 
were lost, it might be view'd without horror. Here 
stood a booth with trinkets, there a hut with a dram 
of old gold ; in another place a skittle- frame and pins, 
and in a fourth c the Noble Art and Mystery of Printing, 
by a servant to one of the greatest trading companies in 
Europe/ With much difficulty, last night, they had 
removed the most valuable effects/ To conclude my 
information upon this subject, I have to observe only 
that the ' Daily Post * of Thursday, February the 14th, 
states that the Sterlings of London Bridge had received 
so much damage during the frost from the great weight 
of ice, that their repairs would amount to several thou- 
sand pounds. 

" The last extract given us by Maitland, in his 
c History/ p. 49, from the Bridge-House revenues and 
accounts, extends from Lady-day 1752 to Lady-day 1753, 
and consists of the following particulars. 

£ s. d, 
" * In the hands of the Bridge-Masters, \ o^o q a 

at the foot of their last account . y 
In the hands of the Chamberlain of j 

London, paid to him by Webb's V 600 

securities ) 

3269 9 6 

In Tenants' hands in arrears at Lady-day, 1752 . 2413 18 9± 
In arrear for fines then ........ 70 6 11 

Rental General this year, including Quit Rents . 3843 8 7 
Fines set this year 662 

Whole charge . ^10259 3 9 J 



1753.] LONDON BRIDGE. SG5 

£ s. d. 

* Rents and Quit-rents paid 52 9 3 

Taxes and Trophy-money : sums collected for the ) ^ ^ ^ x 

accoutrements and maintenance of the Militia ( 

Expenses . 351 17 1 



"2 



Emptions of Timber ..... 471 7 6 
Stone, Chalk, Terrass ... 340 4 4 

Iron- work 158 18 

970 9 10 

Mason, Painter, Glazier, Carpenter, &c. . . . 1904 13 9 

Shipwright's work and Cordage 104 18 

Benevolence 232 13 4 

Particular Payments by Order ._*...• 1254 7 3 3 ^ 

Fees and Salaries 287 4 5 

Cost at Audit and Lady Fair 1 60 1 1 

£5513 15 4| 

£ s. d. 

1 Amount of the preceding Charge 10259 3 9| 

Deduct the foregoing expenses 5513 15 4| 

Remainder 4745 8 4f 

Whereof discharged by desperate arrears and re- 7 ^g ~ q 

mitted ) 

Remaining due to the Bridge-house, at Lady-day, ) . fis;fi o A3 

1753 i 400 ° * 4 * 

And thus disposed of. 

Arrears of Fines and Quit-rents 2483 15 1^ 

Arrears and Fines 70 6 11 

In the hands of the Bridge-Masters 1502 5 5 

In the hands of the Chamberlain of London . . 600 

£4656 7 5* 



" There appears to be some little inaccuracy in this 
statement by Maitland, since the amounts which he sets 
down are not the products of the sums when added to- 
gether ; but these I have rectified, though the balance 
of the whole account does not quite accord with the sums 
remaining in hand. 

M We have at length reached that period, when 
the extensive alteration, or even re-building, of London 



366 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

Bridge, began to form a matter of grave and active 
consideration ; and in relating the proceedings of these 
times, there will be no little difficulty in condensing 
into one consecutive account, all the numerous surveys, 
reports, plans, proposals, and objections, which were then 
published. In treating of this part of the subject, how- 
ever, as it will be best and briefest to do it in order, we 
will first consider the state of old London Bridge, as it 
was represented by the various Architects employed to 
survey it ; then give some account of the schemes pro- 
posed for its alteration ; and lastly, describe that which 
was adopted, and the means used for carrying it into 
effect. 

" It appears extremely probable, that the contrast 
presented by the broad and clear road of the new Bridge 
at Westminster, — which was commenced in September, 
1738, and completed in November, 1749,— chiefly con- 
tributed to turn the attention of the Corporation of 
London to the exceeding inconvenience of their own. 
Though to the building of Westminster Bridge, Mait- 
land, who knew the circumstances, tells us in his c His- 
tory/ vol. ii. p. 1349, that there was very considerable 
opposition ; and that the City of London, the Borough 
of Southwark, the Company of Watermen, and the 
West-Country Bargemen, all petitioned the Parliament 
against it. On Friday, February the 22nd, 1754, as we 
learn from the 4 Public Advertiser* of the day following, 
the Court of Common Council took into consideration a 
motion for the construction of a new Bridge between 
London and Southwark : when, after a debate of nearly 
four hours, it was withdrawn, and a Committee ap- 
pointed, consisting, as usual, of the Aldermen, Deputies, 
and one Common- Councilman from each Ward, to con- 
sider of the bevst means of rendering the old Bridge safe 
and convenient ; who were empowered to draw upon the 
Chamberlain to the amount of 100/., for plans, surveys, 
&c. The Report of this Committee stated, that the 



1754.] LONDON BRIDGE. 867 

Bridge foundation was still good, and that, by pulling 
down the houses, and making such repairs as should 
then be required, the edifice might be rendered equally 
serviceable with Westminster Bridge ; being capable of 
receiving four carriages abreast, with a good foot-way 
on each side. By pulling down the houses at the 
corners of the narrow streets leading to the old Bridge, 
it was also represented that it would be rendered so 
convenient, as to supersede the erection of any new 
one. To this it was objected, that most of the houses 
declined considerably out of the perpendicular ; and that 
those on the Eastern side of the Bridge decayed much 
faster than the opposite ones. In Harrison s c History/ 
p. 24, this account is partly confirmed; since we are 
there told that ' on the outer part of the Bridge, on the 
East side, the view from the wharfs and quays was 
exceedingly disagreeable. Nineteen disproportioned 
arches, with sterlings increased to an amazing size by 
frequent repairs, supported the street above. These 
arches were of very different sizes, and several that were 
low and narrow were placed between others that were 
broad and lofty. The back part of the houses next the 
Thames had neither uniformity nor beauty ; the line 
being broken by a great number of closets that pro- 
jected from the buildings, and hung over the sterlings. 
This deformity was greatly increased by the houses 
extending a considerable distance over the sides of the 
Bridge, and some of them projecting farther over it than 
the others ; by which means, the tops of almost all the 
arches, except those that were nearest, were concealed 
from the view of the passengers on the quays, and made 
the Bridge appear like a multitude of rude piers, with 
only an arch or two at the end, and the rest, consisting 
of beams, extending from the tops of flat piers, without 
any other arches, quite across the river/ 

" The best view of London Bridge in this state, is 
represented in an engraving by Peter Charles Canot, 



368 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

from a picture painted by Samuel Scott, of whom Wal- 
pole says, ' if he were but second to Vandevelde in sea- 
pieces, he excelled him in variety, and often introduced 
buildings in his pictures with consummate skill. His 
views of London Bridge, of the Quay at the Custom- 
House, &c. were equal to his Marines.' He died October 
the 12th, 1772 ; vide the ' Anecdotes of Painting,' p. 445. 
This view is also noticed by Gough in his i British Topo- 
graphy,' vol. i., p. 735 : and Mr. J. T. Smith, in his 
' Ancient Topography/ p. 25, observes, that it was in 
the possession of Edward Roberts, Esq., Clerk of the 
Pells, who probably still retains it. It was exhibited, 
says the author of c Wine and Walnuts,' vol. i., p. 65, in 
1817, at the British Institution ; and of the excellent 
engraving from it there are two editions : the earliest and 
best is marked, c Published according to Act of Parlia- 
ment, Feb^. 25, 1761 :' and the latter may be known by 
the imprint of c Printed for Bowles and Carver, R. H. 
Laurie, and R. Wilkinson.' This plate has been more 
than once copied in a reduced form ; but the best, en- 
graved by Warren, appeared in that Work by Dr. Pugh, 
known by the name of c Hughsons History of London.' 
London, 1806-9, 8vo, vol. ii., p. 316. Another view of 
London Bridge with the houses, of considerably less 
merit, but rather more rarity, was c Printed and sold for 
John Bowles, Print and Map-seller, over against Stocks- 
Market, 1724.' It consists of a small square plate, and 
shows the houses on the Western side of the edifice in 
bad perspective, with a short historical account beneath 
it ; and it forms plate y of a folio volume entitled, 
c Several Prospects of the most noted Buildings in and 
about the City of London.' There are also some rather 
large representations of this Bridge, in most of the old 
two and three-sheet views of London ; as in those pub- 
lished by Bowles c at the Black Horse in Cornhill,' about 
1732, &c. ; and in the series of prints usually called 
' Boydell's Perspectives,' is a folio half-sheet plate very 



1754."] LONDON BRIDGE. 369 

~nuch resembling Scott's, entitled 6 A view of London 
Bridge taken near St. Olave's Stairs. Published according 
to Act of Parliament by J. Boydell, Engraver, at the 
Globe, near Durham Yard, in the Strand. 1731. Price 
Is. J. Boydell, delin. et sculp/ I could mention several 
others, as in the Title-page to the old 4 London Maga- 
zine ; in Strype's edition of Stow ; in Maitland ; Mot- 
ley's Q Seymour s Survey ;* in Hughson, Lambert, and 
numerous other works ; but for fidelity of feature, and 
excellence of effect, none of them are in any respect equal 
to that of Scott, representing London Bridge before 
the alteration of 1758 {see engraving at back). 

u As at this period the public attention was generally 
directed towards this edifice, the proprietors of Maitland's 
6 History of London,' which was then appearing in num- 
bers, issued an Advertisement, in the ' Public Advertiser ' 
of Saturday, April the 6th, 1754, stating, that ' Number 
xv. will be illustrated with two fine Prospects of London 
Bridge as it may be altered agreeable to drawings pre- 
sented to Sir Richard Hoare, by Charles Labelye, Esq. ; 
and humbly inscribed to the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, 
and Common-Council, who now have the state of that 
Bridge under consideration. — Not one of this Number 
will be delivered to any but Subscribers, and such as 
have bought, or shall buy, the former Numbers/ Like 
Strype's edition of Stow, this work was published at 6d. 
each Number. 

" On Thursday, September the 26th, 1754, the Bridge 
Committee presented their Report to the Court of Com- 
mon-Council, an original verbatim copy of which is in 
the xxviii.th vol. of - London Tracts,' in the British 
Museum, small fol. This Report stated, that the piles, 
&c. of old London Bridge having been surveyed by Mr. 
George Dance, then Clerk of the Works to the City, 
the foundations were declared good, and, with common 
repairs, likely to last for ages. That the houses on the 
Bridge being a public inconvenience, it was recommended 

B B 



370 



CHRONICLES OF 



[a. D. 




1754.] LONDON BRIDGE. 37l 

that they should be removed, from St. Magnus' Church 
to the City Gate, on the East ; and from the corner of 
Thames Street to the Bear Tavern in the Borough, on 
the West. That Mr. Dance had produced a plan for an 
alteration of the Bridge, with estimates amounting to 
30,000/., in which were a carriage road of 33 feet, with 
two foot-paths of 6 feet each ; but that such expense 
might be reduced to 27,000/., by leaving the houses 
standing on the South side of the Gate. That, the 
annual rents of the houses to be taken down amounted 
to about 828/. 6s., which would be lost to the Bridge- 
House estates ; whilst the Parishes of St. Magnus and 
St. Olave would also lose in taxes, rents, and tithes, 
about the yearly sum of 484/. 19s. lOd. ; and that the 
estimate of the houses then out upon lease, with others 
which must be bought, came to 8940/. lis. *7d. ; besides 
other satisfaction which might be required by the under- 
tenants. 

" The substance of Labelye's plan for altering this 
edifice, is given in Maitland's ' History/ vol. ii., pp. 
826-832, together with the result of several other reports 
made in 1746. His chief objection to old London 
Bridge was to the sterlings surrounding the piers ; which, 
occupying almost one-fourth part in five of the water- 
way, caused a fall of nearly five feet perpendicular, 
during the greater part of every tide, thus rendering the 
passage of vessels through the locks equally difficult and 
dangerous. He consequently proposed casing the piers, 
with four feet of Portland Stone, and to lessen the ster- 
lings so as always to have about 400 feet of water-way, 
which, being twice as much as the Bridge originally 
possessed, would reduce the fall to about 15 inches. 
The expense of this plan, he conceived, would be about 
2000/. for each pier ; two or three of which could be 
altered in a year, without stopping the passage either 
over or under the Bridge. He also proposed to adopt 
the idea of Sir Christopher Wren, in new-modelling the 



372 CHRONICLES OP £a. D. 

appearance of the building itself, by taking away eleven 
piers, and forming nine broad-pointed Gothic arches, 
springing from the lowest low- water mark : these were 
to be of different dimensions, and the fifth from the 
South end was to be 90 feet in span. The parapet was 
to be ornamented with Gothic crocketed recesses sur- 
mounting the piers ; by a cast-iron balustrade ; or by 
a dwarf- wall, or even houses ; and, according to this 
plan, there would have been a water-way of 540 feet, 
and a fall of not more than 9 inches ; whilst the amount 
of time and expense would not be considerably greater 
than in the former. 

" The Reports of Mr. George Dance, Clerk of the 
City Works, and Bartholomew Sparruck, the Water- 
Carpenter of London Bridge, in answer to the questions 
of the Committee, in 1746, also furnish several very 
curious and interesting particulars concerning the build- 
ing at that period, and the original is to be found at 
length in Maitland's ' History,' already cited ; and in 
Nos. II. and III. of Dr. Charles Huttons c Tracts on 
Mathematical and Philosophical Subjects,' London, 
1812, vol. i., pp: 115-122. The Report commences 
with a table of the depth of water, above, immediately 
under, and below every arch, beginning at the South 
end of the Bridge, which is to the following effect : — 



" ' Name of the Lock. West Side. Under the Arch. 


East Side. 




Ft. 


In. Ft. In. 


Ft. In. 


Shore Lock .... 


16 


— . . 5 9 . 


. 8 10 


Second Lock from Surrey Shore . 


14 


6 . . 9 — . 


. 10 4 


Rock Lock . . . 


22 


3 . . 3 — . 


. 14 — 


Fourth Lock from Surrey Shore . 


14 


— . . 7 — . 


. 15 7 


Fifth Lock from Surrey shore . . 


18 


9 . . 10 3 . 


. 18 7 


Roger Lock . . . • 


17 


7 . . 8 7 . 


. 15 11 


Draw Lock . . 


18 


1 . . 8 10 . 


. 15 11 


Nonesuch Lock . . . . 


25 


1 . . 9 2 . 


. 18 3 


Pedlar's Lock • * . . 


17 


8 . . 5 9 


. 18 6 


Gutt Lock . • • . 


21 


2 . . 5 6 . 


. 17 8 


Long Entry Lock • 


18 


11 . . 3 5 . 


. 12 8 


Chapel Lock . ... 


17 


— ..24 


. 22 — 


St. Mary's Lock • 


24 


6 . . 8 9 . 


. 20 — 



1755.~] LONDON BRIDGE. 373 



Name of the Lock. "West Side. Under the Arch. East Side. 

Ft. In. Ft In. Ft. In. 

Little Lock . . . . 22 3 . . 9 — . . 17 4 

King's Lock . 
Shore Lock 
Mill Lock 



Mill Lock 
Mill Lock 
Mill Lock 



23 9 . . 6 9 . . 20 7 

19 9 . . 6 11 . . 21 10 

20 3 . . 4 6 . . 21 10 
19 4 . . 7 9 . . 14 1 
10 10 . . 4 — . . 13 10 

6 7 . . 6 1 . . 10 10 



" The Report then proceeds to state, that the height 
of the under bed of the first course of stones is very 
unequal ; some being 2 feet 4 inches; and others varying 
from 1 foot 3 inches, to 1 foot 11 inches above low-water 
mark ; and from 4 to 6 feet above the level of the ster- 
lings. The rough and unhewn piles were found to be 
shod with iron, and but little decayed : in some instances, 
they were separated from the stone -work by planks of 
oak and elm, from 4 to 6 inches in thickness, which were 
probably first inserted at some of the numerous repairs ; 
and each of the piers was protected by a stone base, ex- 
tending about 7 inches beyond them. It was from these 
reports, that Mr. Labelye drew up his plans, which, 
together with his remarks on the old Bridge, were pre- 
sented to the Committee, on Wednesday, the 17th of 
September, 1746. As this Architect desired that his 
designs might be examined by some eminent, scientific, 
and disinterested individuals, several such persons were 
called in to assist the deliberations of the Committee ; 
though, after many other inquiries and consultations, the 
discussions terminated in a proposal for building a new 
Bridge at Blackfriars. 

" At a Court of Common Council holden on Thursday 
December 18, 1755, after a veiy protracted opposition, 
the Corporation consequently agreed to petition Parlia- 
ment for leave to bring in a Bill to erect another Bridge 
over the Thames at Fleet-Ditch, and on Tuesday, Jan. 
13, 1756, the petition was presented and referred to a 
Committee ; another petition being also presented at 



374 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the same time, praying leave to bring in a Bill for im- 
proving and widening the passage over London Bridge, 
by removing the houses and other obstructions thereon, 
and for raising money to enable the Trustees to render 
the same safer and more commodious. This also was 
referred to a Committee ; on Friday, March 12, 1756, 
leave was granted to bring in the Bills ; and on Thurs- 
day, the 27th of May, they both received the Royal 
assent, when the King closed the Session of Parliament. 
These Acts are printed in Maitland's c History,' vol. iu, 
p. 1387 ;' though the best authority is Ruffhead's ' Sta- 
tutes at Large, vol. vii., pp. 728-738, 29th of Geo. II., 
Chap. xl. ; and I shall first give a very few particulars of 
the Act relating to London Bridge, and next show how 
the alteration was effected. By this Statute, then, the 
Corporation was empowered to buy and remove all build- 
ings on, and contiguous to, the Bridge, for enlarging its 
avenues, improving the passage over, and widening one 
or more of its arches : — to devise how the same should 
be executed, and kept in repair: — to erect a uniform 
balustrade on each side, with a passage of 31 feet for 
carriages, &c., and 7 feet for each of the footways : — to 
have it lighted and watched at the expense of the Bridge- 
House estates : — to preserve the arches and pipes belong- 
ing to the Water- works : — to establish, after the 24th of 
June, 1756, an additional toll for the payment of the 
expenses incurred by the alterations : — to keep the Bridge 
clear of buildings, and of carriages standing upon it for 
hire, after the houses should be removed ; and to make 
all carriages keep on the Eastern side in going towards 
South wark, and on the Western side in coming to Lon- 
don. The Act also provided penalties for destroying the 
Bridge or any of its works ; extensive powers for the 
Corporation in buying the various property ; an equiva- 
lent for the tithes, rates, &c, payable to the Rectors of 
St. Magnus and St. Margaret, and St. Olave ; and parti- 
cular ordinances concerning the tolls. 



1755.] LONDON BRIDGE. 375 

" Gates and toll-houses were to be erected on, or near, 
London Bridge ; but to continue only until the principal 
and interest of the borrowed moneys should be discharged. 
The additional tolls were, ' for every horse drawing any 
coach, chariot, hearse, berlin, landau, calash, chaise, or 
chair, over the Bridge, Id. ; for every such carriage itself, 
Id. ; and for every horse not drawing, passing across the 
Bridge, ^d! Loaded vessels also, passing under the Bridge, 
were to pay 2d. for every 5 tons burthen ; 3d. for ten 
tons ; 6d. for 25 tons, and Is. for vessels of greater capa- 
city. In the Act for building a Bridge at Blackfriars, 
29th of Geo. II. — 1756, Chap, lxxxvi., it is stated, that 
the taking away of all tolls from that of London, as soon 
as possible, would be of general advantage, they being 
then leased out for 21 years at a fine of 2100/., and a 
yearly rent of 735/. ; the redemption of all which was 
estimated at 36,000/. In 1757, the 31st of Geo. II., 
Chap, xx., an aid of 15,000/. was granted by Parliament 
towards the rebuilding of London Bridge, because the 
tolls were not only difficult to collect, but were also a 
considerable hindrance to commerce and navigation : 
vide the 'Continuation of Maitland's History/ at the 
end of vol. ii., p. 19. The powers of the new Act — 
which also protected the Bridge and its works, by making 
it felony to destroy them, — commenced from the 21st of 
April, and the additional tolls of the former one ceased 
from the 24th of June, 1758. Whilst I am upon the 
subject, it will probably be as well to include all our 
notices of the tolls of London Bridge under one head ; 
and therefore I may remark, that in 1767, the 7th of 
Geo. III., Chap, xxxvii., an Act was passed for the 
completing of Blackfriars Bridge, making several im- 
provements in the City, and for treating with Mr. Edward 
Neale, the Lessee of the tolls of London Bridge, for their 
redemption ; to which latter purpose, the sum of 30,000/. 
was appropriated. About the end of September, 1770, 
the Corporation proceeded to act upon this power, fifteen 



376 CHRONICLES OF Qa. D. 

years and three quarters being then unexpired of the 
lease ; but the lessee having altered his demand, on 
account of the tolls having increased upwards of 600/. per 
annum since 1766, it was found, that to reimburse the 
City, it was essential that they should continue both 
upon London and Blackfriars Bridges for some years 
longer. Upon petition of the Corporation, therefore, in 
the 11th of Geo. III., 1771, Chap, xx., an Act was 
passed for further continuing the tolls on London Bridge 
until March 25, 1782, when the remainder of the lease 
was to be bought and the tolls finally to cease. All these 
particulars will be found in the 4 Statutes at Large/ vols, 
vii., pp. 728—738, 742; viii., p. 210; x., pp. 306, 307; and 
xi., pp. 154, 155 ; there is also considerable information 
upon this subject to be found in Malcolm's 4 Londinum 
Redivivum,' vol. ii., pp. 392 — 396, derived from authentic 
documents. From these authorities it appears that the 
amount of the prescriptive tolls of London Bridge, at 
Midsummer, 1763, produced 1785/. 10s. Bd. ; in 1764, 
1946/. 4s. Id. ; in 1765, 1846/. 7s. 4d. ; in 1766, 1878/. 
16s. 6d. ; and in 1770, 2465/. 14s. 3d. ; estimating, there- 
fore, the average to be about 1864/., and deducting from 
that sum the Rent, 735/. ; Land Tax, 180/. 12.?., and the 
expenses of collecting, 150/., the lessee's clear annual 
income would be 798/. 15s. 

" It was upon this calculation that the value of the 
remainder of his lease was ascertained, and the Act for 
continuing the tolls first devised ; though on Wednesday, 
April 24th, 1765, the Committee of City Lands let to 
Mr. Neale a lease of 21 years of the toll of carts and 
wheelage over London Bridge, for a fine of 2000 guineas, 
and the old rent of 735/. per annum. See the ' Gentle- 
man's Magazine ' for 1765, vol. xxxv. p. 197. 

" Notwithstanding, however, these active proceedings 
for the improvement of this edifice, the parties in favour 
of, and against, a new building ran extremely high, as 
you may see in the ' Continuation of Maitland's History/ 



1755,] LONDON BRIDGE. 377 

p. 4. That several interests were to be consulted in the 
alteration of London Bridge, is evident, and they are 
particularly shown in the counter-petitions presented to 
Parliament whilst the Bridge Bills were pending; as, 
one drawn up by the most ardent supporters of the new 
Bridge at Blackfriars ; and another by the Rev. Edmund 
Gibson, Rector of St, Magnus and St. Margaret, for 
recompense in loss of tithes, &c. to the amount of 
48/. 6s. 2d., by taking down the houses. Vide the 
4 Journals of the House of Commons,' vol. xxvii. p. 574 ; 
and the 6 Continuation of Maitland's History,' p. 11 ; on 
p. 7 of which authority it is also stated, that on the 12th 
of June, 1755, ! the Common Council allowed the Comp- 
troller of the Bridge-House 410/. per annum, in lieu of 
his customary bills, which were so much reduced by the 
loss that would accrue to the Bridge- House estate, in the 
repairing and improvement of London Bridge.' But whilst 
many persons were too much interested even in the 
worst state of it, with all its inconvenient buildings, not 
to oppose their alteration, they were found to be almost 
equally dangerous both on the edifice and on the water. 
In the proceedings in Parliament concerning the altera- 
tions, Mr. Dance, the Architect, stated, that the piers 
were solid for ten feet above the sterlings, upon which 
were erected walls of three feet in thickness, forming 
cellars to the houses ; and they having settled, the walls 
were much injured. In consequence, also, of the con- 
tracted passage between the houses upon the Bridge, the 
inhabitants experienced many inconveniences peculiar to 
their situation. Mr. Deputy James Hodges declared, 
that he ; had frequently known it happen, that coals had 
been thrown through the windows of the houses, out of 
the barges going under the Bridge ; and that, as he is 
informed, the reason is, that the candle-lights in the 
houses make it dangerous in the night-time to go through 
the locks. That, people on the river have always a 
glimmering light by which they can distinguish objects, 



378 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

unless in a very thick fog. That light leaves them just 
when they come to shoot the locks, as far as the shadows 
of the houses extend ; and thereby they lose the 
possibility of discerning the passage between the sterlings.' 
See Malcolm's c Londinum Redivivum,' vol. ii. p. 388, 
and the ' Journals of the House of Commons/ The 
improvement of the passage over London Bridge was, 
however, much accelerated by the passing of an Act in 
1755, the 28th of George II., chap, ix., for taking away 
the ancient Market then held in High Street, Southwark, 
after Lady-day, 1756 : and in Chapter xxii. of the 
former year, it w r as removed to its recent place on the 
site of Rochester Yard. See Bray's ' History of Surrey,' 
vol. iii. p. 550 ; and the i Statutes at Large,' vol. vii. 
pp. 579, 620. Having thus, then, given some idea of 
the proceedings of the Corporation before the improve- 
ment of the old London Bridge, let us now go on to 
consider the nature and manner of that alteration itself: 
and so, if you're not asleep, Mr. Barbican, here's your 
health." 

" No, truly," replied I, wakefully endeavouring to 
appear as brisk as my drowsiness would let me, " Time 
has a wonderful effect in reconciling us to the most 
tiresome employments ; and I doubt not but to be able 
to hold out through the remainder of your discourse, 
with, the aid of this Sack-posset, which seems to be little 
less interminable, and heated beyond the power of cooling 
again. But go on, Master Barnaby, go on, Sir." 

" You are next to be informed then," recommenced 
the Antiquary, " that we are told by the Rev. John 
Entick, in his 4 Continuation of Maitland's History,' 
p. 19, that the Committee appointed to repair London 
Bridge resolved to take down all the buildings and 
erections which stood upon it, of every kind whatsoever : 
to remove the great middle pier, and to lay the two 
adjoining locks into one, by turning an entire new arch, 
occupying the whole space : to add the depth of the 



1757.] LONDON BRIDGE. 879 

removed houses to the width of the Bridge : and to 
secure both sides by a stone wall breast-high, surmounted 
by lofty balustrades. To effect all this, it was essential 
to stop up the Bridge, and, at the same time, to provide 
a convenient passage to South wark; on which, it was 
determined to construct a Temporary Bridge of Wood. 
This edifice consisted of stout unplaned oak timbers, to 
the amount of 2000/. ; and it was erected on the sterlings 
in a curved form, on the Western side of the stone one, 
into which it opened at each end, extending from the 
water- works to about the fourth arch on the Surrey side 
of the river. The timber being taken back by the 
builder, his labour in erecting and removing it being 
compensated, one penny per cube foot was allowed him 
for the use of the materials. In Harrison s c History of 
London,' p. 409, it is stated, that this temporary Bridge 
was opened in the month of October, 1757, when it was 
; found to be very convenient, not only for foot-passen- 
gers, but also for horsemen and carriages ; ' but there are 
few notices to be found of it in the public prints of the 
period. By ' Lloyd's Evening Post and British Chronicle/ 
however, a quarto newspaper of several leaves, then 
published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we 
are informed, in the paper for Wednesday, September 
21st, p. 219, that, ' to-morrow they will begin to lay the 
first coat of gravel on the Temporary Bridge, so that it 
will be passable by the end of this month:' and the 
' Public Advertiser' of Saturday, October 22nd, thus 
fixes the time when the Bridge was actually finished. 
• Yesterday, the Committee appointed under the late 
Act of Parliament for the improvement of London Bridge, 
met and view'd the Temporary Bridge, and gave orders 
to have it open d to-morrow morning for foot-passengers/ 
The houses on the stone edifice, indeed, were already 
begun to be removed : for, in the ' Gentleman's Maga- 
zine,' for 1757, vol. xxvii. p. 91, it is stated, that on 



380 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Tuesday, February 22nd, ' three pots of money, silver 
and gold, of the coin of Queen Elizabeth, were found by 
the workmen in pulling down the houses on London 
Bridge/ The whole of these buildings, however, were 
not entirely taken away until some years after this time ; 
for in the ' London Chronicle ' of Thursday, May 17th, 
1759, the name of ' William Herbert on London Bridge,' 
occurs as one of the publishers of ' The Lives of the 
Reformers/ By the same paper, too, for Thursday, 
August the 14th, 1760, p. 161, we are informed, that c in 
pulling down the house called the Chapel- House, on 
London Bridge, there has been found this week a very 
antique marble font, &c., curiously engraved, and several 
ancient coins, &c. The stones used in the building of 
this structure were so strongly cemented with different 
kinds of mortar, and strong iron clamps, that the work- 
men found a most difficult task in the demolition of it, 
which is not yet completed/ The Committee for alter- 
ing London Bridge had, however, previously advertised 
for persons to carry their intentions into effect, to meet 
at Guildhall on the 1st of February, 1757 ; as may be 
seen in the ' Public Advertiser ' of Monday, January 
24th ; and in the same authority for Monday, May the 
2nd following, it is further stated, that Messrs. Blackden 
and Flight, the contractors for taking down and clearing 
away the houses on London Bridge, completed their 
engagement on the Saturday evening previously: and 
that from the commencement of their work, there had 
not occurred a single accident. The view of old London 
Bridge and its buildings, by Scott, to which I have 
already referred, furnishes us with large and interesting 
prospects of several of the principal edifices which, after 
this period, were removed ; and I may add, that in the 
x.th volume of Mr. Crowles Illustrated Pennant, there 
is an enlarged drawing of this picture, executed by John 
Varley, in colours, measuring 3 feet 0^ inches, by 1 foot 



1757.] LONDON BRIDGE. 381 

5§ ; ruthlessly cut into three parts to fit the size of the 
book. In these views, one of the most curious objects is 
a prospect of the Eastern Exterior of the Chapel of 

St.Thomas in 1757; a more 
particular engraving of 
which you will find in the 
'Gentleman's Magazine/ for 
1753, vol. xxiii. p .432. But 
few remains of the original 
structure were then percep- 
tible on the outside of this 
building; though its form 
of a semi-hexagon might be 
traced, whilst the old pier 
of the Bridge, the base- 
ment standing on the ster- 
ling, and some of the pin- 
nacles and buttresses of the 
^Chapel, were discernible in 
the centre and at the sides. The greater part of it, 
however, was scarcely to be distinguished from the other 
houses, being covered with brickwork or boarding ; 
w T hilst the Upper Chapel was converted into apartments, 
and the Lower one into the Paper Warehouse of Messrs. 
Gill and Wright, having a crane attached to it to take 
in goods from boats. In front of the Bridge pier, a 
square fish-pond was formed in the sterling, into which 
the fish were carried by the tide, and then detained 
there by a wire-grating placed over it : and an ancient 
servant of London Bridge, now verging upon his hun- 
dredth summer, well remembers to have gone down 
through the Chapel to fish in this pond. 

" The Nonesuch House on London Bridge in 1756 
(p. 882) is also represented by Scott in a very dilapidated 
appearance, especially when contrasted with its splendour 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ; and, when it 
was taken down, was probably in the occupation of seve- 




382 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

ral persons in trade, or perhaps was shut up and allowed 
to fall into decay. One of the most picturesque and in- 




teresting objects in Scott's View, is that group of build- 
ings formed of the Eastern Side of the Modern 
Southwark Gate and Towers, (see engraving opposite,} 
with the Second Gate beyond it ; beneath which is a 
very perfect representation of one of the original arches, 
called the Rock Lock, and one of the old piers, whilst 
above is shown the third of those open spaces guarded 
with iron rails, which alone varied the street-like charac- 
ter of old London Bridge, and indicated to its passengers 



1757.] 



LONDON BRIDGE. 



383 



that they were actually crossing a river. I know but of 
one engraving, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, which gives us 
any view directly up the Bridge-street ; and even that is 
so slight, that were it not that I am unwilling to lose any 
fragment relating to old London Bridge, I should omit 




mentioning it altogether. \ ou will hnd it, however, in 
that half-sheet copper-plate, after Antonio CanalettL 
published m < Bowles's Perspectives/ entitled, < The 
Monument of London in remembrance of the dreadfull 
Fire m 1666. Bowles delin. et sculp. Published accord- 
ing to Act of Parliament, 1752. Printed for John Bowles 
and Son, at the Black Horse in CornhhY This prospect 



384 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

then, being taken on Fish-Street-Hill, shows the Monu- 
ment on the left hand, and the termination of the street 
in the first Northern gate of London Bridge, with some 
indication of the houses beyond it ; though the whole 
view has certainly a far more spacious appearance than 
this part of London ever possessed. 

" Before I close my notices of the year 17-57, I have 
to observe, from the printed document I have so fre- 
quently quoted, that from 1639 until this time, c no addi- 
tion of salary was paid to the Bridge- Masters, nor any 
other allowance ; but when the houses were taken down 
on London Bridge, the sum of 10/. per annum was or- 
dered to be paid to each of the Bridge- Masters, in lieu of 
fees, &c. arising from the said houses. Order of the 
Committee made May 4, 1757. And also when certain 
warehouses were taken away, and laid into the Bridge- 
House, the annual sum of 61. 10s. was ordered to be paid 
in lieu of the said warehouses to the Senior Bridge-Mas- 
ter. And after the Bridge was finished, lighted, and 
watched, one of the Bridge-Masters was ordered to super- 
intend the Watchman on the said Bridge, and in the 
Bridge- Yard, for which he received the sum of 121. by 
order of the Committee. The whole income of the Senior 
Bridge-Master at the present time (1786), 100/. 10*. 
Rental at Christmas 1785, 8280/. 1*. 4d. 

Present income of the Junior Bridge- Master ; Salary, £ s. d. 
&c. as before . 72 

In lieu of a stable . . . . . ..400 

In lieu of fees for the houses lately standing on London- 
Bridge . . . . . . . . 10 

In lieu of Warehouses . . . . ..076 



Total Income . . £86 7 6' 



So terminates this very curious document, which has 
furnished so many authentic particulars of the Bridge 
accounts at different periods, showing its increasing pros- 
perity and revenues, between the times of Edward the 
Fourth, and those of George the Third. 



1/S8.J LONDON BRIDGE. 385 

"Whilst the alteration of London Bridge was beine- 
earned rapidly into effect, in the early part of the year 
1/58, an event occurred, which not only destroyed some 
portion of the building itself, but also nearly the whole 
ol the works surrounding it. This was the fatal Fire 
on the Temporary Bridge, 




which burst out about eleven o'clock, in the night of 
Tuesday, April 11th as it fc re l ated in Entick - S , ^ 
nuation of Mainland,' p. 20 • in the < Gentleman's Maga- 

?? ^ X M^-/- 192; inJo hnNoorthouck's 'History 
of London 1773, 4to, p. 390; and in Harrison's < His- 
tory of London p 410, where there is an engraving of 
tae fire, probably by Wale, after a drawing by Grignln. 
c c 



886 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

From these accounts, we learn that the conflagration 
brake out suddenly from the two ends of the Wooden 
Bridge, which, having been dried by several days of 
bright sunshine, appeared instantly to be in flames, en- 
tirely preventing any approach to suppress it. Though 
Sir Charles Asgill, the Lord Mayor, came very early to 
the spot, and remained there almost the whole time of 
the fire, exerting himself exceedingly to stop its progress, 
it continued raging until the next day, when the burning 
ruins* fell into the river ; and Entick observes, that he 
saw the drawbridge a-light at twelve o'clock at noon. All 
communication between the City and South wark being 
thus suspended, excepting so far as it could be carried on 
by water, forty additional boats were licensed by the 
Lord Mayor to work as ferries on the three succeeding 
Sundays ; though the inhabitants of Southwark suffered 
still greater privation from the destruction of the troughs 
which conveyed water to them over the Bridge whilst it 
was repairing, instead of the pipes which had been dug 
up from the water- works. The navigation was also 
equally interrupted by the vast timbers that fell across 
the arches, and the many large stones which almost 
blocked up the current of the tide ; so that the locks at 
each end only remained entirely clear. As it was very 
generally suspected that this fire was not accidental, the 
Lord Mayor waited on Mr. Pitt by nine o'clock the 
next morning, by whom a Proclamation, dated White- 
hall, April the 12th, was issued, containing the King's 
Pardon to any of the incendiaries, excepting the person 
who actually set the Bridge on Fire ; with a reward of 
200/. for his discovery, from the Corporation of London. 
From the examinations of several persons, there appears 
to have been considerable grounds for this suspicion. The 
Watchmen and others in the vicinity, on both sides of 
the river, declared that about eleven o'clock they observed 
lights in several places under the Bridge ; soon after 
which, the whole building burst into flames; and it was 



1758.] LONDON BRIDGE. 387 

also reported, that about ten o'clock, on the night of the 
fire, several persons, apparently intoxicated, were seen 
coming over the Bridge, with a torch, which, in a struggle 
between themselves, was flung over the boarded fence, 
where the light disappeared, till all the timber beneath 
burst into flames. Another account, contained in the 
6 London Chronicle, or Universal Evening Post/ for 
April the 11th to the 13th, 1758, p. 350, states, that the 
Watchmen actually saw ' a person in a boat with a candle 
in a lanthorn, busy about the stone pier, which is *to* be 
taken down to lay two arches into one ; and after a short 
time he was seen to extinguish the candle, and the boat 
went off, and in a few minutes after the Bridge burst 
out in flames, and continued so until there was no wood 
left above the water to burn/ The deposition, also, of 
Mary, wife of John Dennis, of George Alley, Thames 
Street, taken before the Lord Mayor on April 14th, stated, 
that ' about ten o'clock on the night of the fire, she was in 
the Watch House belonging to Dyers' Hall, near London 
Bridge, and, looking over the hatch of the door, she saw 
a lanthorn in the Chapel pier. Soon after, she observed 
another, and then, losing sight of both, there presently 
appeared three in the same place. At first, she supposed 
that some vessel was at the Bridge, but the appearance 
of the second light showed her that they were between 
the wood- work at the great pier ; and when the three 
lanthoms were visible together, she observed that one 
was held up and another down towards the timbers. 
These lights she imagined to proceed from workmen, 
but in a short time she saw a small flame burst out on 
the same spot, which was damped, and then brake out 
again, and, after having been damped a second time, 
blazed very fiercely ; upon which the deponent went to 
the next wharf, and gave notice that London Bridge was 
on fire.' This testimony of Mrs. Dennis was confirmed 
by that of several other persons, who declared that they 
also saw the lanterns. The City was indeed filled with 
cc2 " 



888 chronicles of [a. rr. 

rumours and suspicions of every description ; the lower 
orders accused the Watermen and Lightermen ; another 
class attributed the fire to the supporters of the new 
Bridge at Blackfriars ; whilst a third party intimated 
that the scheme lay still deeper, and believed the design 
to have been long concerted. We know, indeed, that the 
Temporary Bridge was the object of many an impreca- 
tion from the common people, who might be tempted to 
fire it from the inconveniences which they experienced 
upon* it ; as in the Winter it was so excessively dirty, 
that some supposed the Committee had contrived it so to 
increase the toll, by obliging all passengers to cross it. in 
carriages ; whilst in dry weather it was no less incom- 
moded by dust. The real origin of the fire, however, 
was never discovered ; and Noorthouck observes, that as 
there were enough of natural causes to have produced it 9 
so it is not probable that persons interested in obstructing 
the works or creating new ones, would have exposed 
themselves to detection for such an attempt. ' In such 
a mixture of stone and wood/ says he, ' a heap of quick- 
lime on the sterlings, accidentally wetted by the tide, 
might kindle any adjoining timbers ; or, as it is usual 
for servants behind coaches, with flambeaux in their 
hands, to clear them by striking them on the hinder 
wheels, it is no forced supposition that some thoughtless 
fellow might have struck his flambeau on the pallisade 
of the Bridge for the same purpose ; the flaming wax of 
which, dropping into some joint on the outside, would 
have been sufficient for such a disaster.* A curious letter 
on this subject, from which I have added many particu- 
lars to my information, will be found in the * London 
Chronicle for April the 13th to the 15th, 1758, p. 359. 
In consequence of this destruction, the Corporation of 
London addressed the Parliament for relief; and on Fri- 
day, April 21st, a resolution passed the House of Com- 
mons, that ' a sum not exceeding 15,000/. be granted to 
his Majesty, to be applied towards the rebuilding of Lon- 



1758.] LONDON BRIDGE. 389 

don Bridge/ This produced the Act to which I have 
already referred, which made any wilful attempt to de- 
stroy the Bridge or its works, to be death without benefit 
of clergy, 

London Bridge after the Fire of 1758 (seep. 390) 
presented a truly ruinous prospect ; for nearly all the 
centre houses being removed, there appeared a wide 
vacancy, with a broken chasm in the middle, down to 
the waters edge, where the new arch was being -con- 
structed. There are three engravings of this edifice 
taken immediately subsequent to the destruction, the 
rarest of which is an extremely slight and rude etching, 
on a small folio half-sheet, entitled \ The Melancholy 
Prospect of London Bridge South-East, April 12th, 
1758. J. Jump Del. et Sculp. Published according 
to Act. To be had at the Acorn in the Strand.' In 
this most barbarous prospect the buildings are repre- 
sented in flames ; and I have seen it marked so high as 
4s. I cannot imagine why Gough, in his ' British 
Topography,* vol. i. p. 735, calls the next of these en- 
gravings ' a miserable view,' since it is certainly as good 
as the generality of the prints of the period, and is very 
considerably better than the last. It consists of a large 
half-sheet, entitled c An Exact View of London Bridge 
since the Conflagration of the Temporary Bridge,' which 
is a copper-plate of 8 inches by 13-L ; and beneath it, in 
letter-press, is ' A Chronological and Historical Account 
from the first building a Bridge across the River Thames 
from London to South wark, till the late Conflagration 
of the Temporary Bridge, the 11th of April, 1758. 
Sold by William Herbert, under the Piazzas on the 
Remains of London Bridge. Price One Shilling, Plain. 
Colour'd, Eighteen Pence/ The only additional infor- 
mation which we derive from this narrative, is, that 4 as 
the wind providentially blew the whole time at East, — 
tho' all the day before it had blown strong from the 
Southward, — it did no damage to any of the houses at 



390 



CHRONICLES OF 



[a. d. 






If 5 m 







1758.] LONDON" BRIDGE. 39l 

either end/ But by far the best representation of the 
effects of this fire, is a half-sheet copper-plate, entitled, 
in French and English, ' A View of London Bridge, 
with the Ruins of y e Temporary Bridge, Drawn the 
day after the Dreadfull Fire, April the 11th, 1753, by 
A. Walker. Published according to Act of Parliament, 
June 28th, 1758. London : Printed for John Ryall, 
at Hogarth's Head in Fleet Street. A. Walker delin. 
et sculp/ All these prospects were taken on the West 
side of the Bridge, and represent the building horizon- 
tally across the picture : Herbert's extends from Fish- 
mongers' Hall to the South wark Gate ; but Anthony 
"Walker s takes in the whole Bridge, and part of the 
buildings on the Surrey shore; 

" Yet, if this fire were sudden, and its destruction ex- 
tensive, the exertions of the City Corporation were not 
less prompt and effectual in repairing of the damage. 
The Common Council, like Bunyan's Captains in 
Mansoul, being always true lovers of London, like so 
many Samsons, shook themselves, and came together 
to consult upon and contrive a remedy. The Court 
of Common Council met by one o'clock on the day 
after the fire, and was attended by Mr. Dance, Mr. 
Taylor, and Mr. Phillips, the builder of the Bridge, 
whom the Lord Mayor had previously ordered to sur- 
vey it ; and their report was, that with a proper number 
of workmen, who should be allowed to labour on Sundays, 
they would engage to make the old Bridge passable for 
carriages by the 1st of May. A new Temporary Bridge 
was ordered to be immediately erected, and upwards of 
500 workmen were constantly employed upon it, by 
whose means, as it is stated in the c Gentleman's Maga- 
zine' for 1758, p. 193, the Bridge was re-opened for 
foot-passengers, on Wednesday, the 19th of April ; and 
the whole of the new wooden edifice was read} r for 
carriages in less than a month after the fire. During 
the erection of this building, there seemed to be disco- 
vered an additional proof that the last conflagration was 



392 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

not accidental ; for Daniel Capel, the Inspector of the 
Bridge, having been informed that Mary Dennis, before 
mentioned, and John Scott, one of the Bridge Watch- 
men, had seen lights about the new works at an unsea- 
sonable hour in the night of the 23rd of August, brought 
them to give their evidence before Mr. Alderman 
Francis Cokayne. The Inspector was then ordered to 
search if there were any appearance of fire, and make 
his report to the Lord Mayor ; upon which he stated, 
that having carefully surveyed the Bridge with proper 
attendants, they found the appearance of an attempt in 
three places, where the new wood work was scorched 
quite black ; and one of the Watchmen also produced 
the remains of a link found in the unfinished works of 
the Bridge. To prevent another conflagration, there- 
fore, says Entick, in his c Continuation of Maitlands 
History,' p. 21, it was ordered that two men, well armed, 
should be placed every night, from sun-set to sun-rise, 
in a gallery erected from end to end of the Temporary 
Bridge, just beneath the centre of the works, with 
lamps lighted, and a bell, to alarm the neighbourhood 
in case of an attack. This watch was continued under 
the direction of Mr. Capel, until the whole of tire Tem- 
porary Bridge was taken down. Before this, however, 
as we are informed by ' Owens Weekly Chronicle, or 
Universal Journal/ for August 26th to September 2nd, 
1758, p. 173, five watermen, armed with blunderbusses 
and cutlasses, had watched for a fortnight, from ten at 
night until five in the morning, in a boat under the great 
Arch. The opening of the second wooden erection for 
carriages did not take place until Wednesday, the 18th 
of October, 1758, as we learn from - Owen s Weekly 
Chronicle,' October 14th to 21st, No. 29, p. 230 : on 
p. 206 of a former Number of which, the watch is parti- 
cularly mentioned ; and we are also told that there was 
a convenient pathway for foot-passengers, railed in and 
elevated above the carriage-road. Pages 183 and 198 
of the same authority, shew that the edifice was strewed 



1759.] LONDON BRIDGE. 393 

over with gravel above the planks ; that on each side 
there were uprights for covering it ; and that a month 
intervened between the gravelling and the opening of 
the Bridge. In consequence, too, of the recent attempt 
to destroy the New Bridge, this paper likewise informs 
us, p. 238, that orders were issued by the Lord Mayor, 
that no coaches nor foot-passengers should carry any 
lighted torches over the Temporary Bridge. 

" It was not, however, until the middle of the year 
1759, that the new Arch of London Bridge began to 
assume its intended form ; though we can trace its 
progress only by slight occasional notices contained in 
the periodicals of the day. Thus we learn from a para- 
graph in the c London Chronicle,' of Saturday, July the 
28th, 17-59, page 88, that e the grand Arch at London 
Bridge is now completed. It is finished in the Gothick 
taste, and the balustrades upon it are fixing. The foot- 
paths will be rather wider than those at Westminster ; 
and it is proposed to fi.x posts along them with chains 
from one post to the other, to secure foot-passengers 
from any damage which might otherwise happen from 
cattle/ The strength and complication of the timber 
used for forming this Arch, are particularly pointed out 
in an engraving and letter signed E. M., in ' The London 
Magazine ' for that year, vol. xxviii. p. 672 ; where it 
is stated, that about 17,000 feet of wood were contained 
within the arch, which, at some little distance, appeared 
to be entirely solid, the vacant spaces being exceedingly 
small in proportion to the beams themselves. Its actual 
contents were 13,872 cubic feet of timber, forming the 
centre ; and 3570 feet more, occupied in booms, guard- 
piles, struts, and trusses required for the preservation of 
the old and new works, and for keeping off the River 
craft, tide-water, and ice. This alteration was carried 
into effect by Sir Robert Taylor, Architect to the Bank 
of England, and Mr. Dance, Senior ; and the Carpenter 
employed for the construction of this Centering of the 
Great Arch of London Bridge (seep. 394), received 2.?. 



394 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

per foot for the use of his timber,including labour, and took 
it back again at his own expense. It measured 70 feet 
span, by 48 feet wide, and the rise was 23 feet ; . it was 
formed of 16 ribs or frames, and was supported on three 
Sterlings ; namely, the two side ones of about 6 feet 
each, and that from which the Chapel pier had been 
removed. The author of the letter which I have referred 
to, censuring the extraordinary quantity of wood used 




in the centre, observes that it employed nearly 10,500 
feet more than were used at Westminster Bridge . not- 
withstanding the Arch at London Bridge is 4f feet 
narrower, and 12 feet lower, though the Bridge itself is 
4| feet wider. The author's own plan, which is also 
annexed to the letter, more resembles that adopted b}^ 
the late Mr. Rennie, in his alteration of Rochester 
Bridge, in the year 1821. It consisted of five radii, 
supporting as many timbers placed pentagonally ; occu- 
pied only 7000 feet of timber, and would have amounted 
to 1000/. less than the plan actually adopted. 

" Many months had not elapsed, however, when it 
was discovered, that, by the removal of the large centre 
pier, the excavations around and underneath its Ster- 
lings were so considerable, as to place the adjoining 
piers, and even the new arch itself, in very imminent 



1761.] LONDON BRIDGE. 395 

danger. The presentiments of many, and the appre- 
hensions of almost all, were consequently so great, that 
but few persons would pass either over or under it ; the 
Surveyors themselves were not prepared with any ade- 
quate remedy ; and Mr. John Smeaton, the celebrated 
Engineer, was instantly summoned express from York- 
shire to relieve the difficulty. Having immediately pro- 
ceeded to survey the Bridge, and to sound about the 
dangerous Sterlings, he advised the Corporation to buy 
back again the stones of the City Gates, and throw them 
into the water, to guard the Sterlings; preserve the 
bottom from farther corrosion ; raise the floor under the 
Arch ; and restore the head of the current required for 
the Water-works, to its original power. These City 
Gates, you will remember, had been previously sold and 
taken down, in 1760 and 61, as appears by the ' Gentle- 
man s Magazine ' for those years ; volume xxx., pages 
390, 440, 591^ and volume xxxi., page 187 : where we 
are informed, that on Wednesday, July 30th, were sold 
to Mr. Blagden, a Carpenter in Coleman Street, before 
the Commissioners of City Lands, the edifice of Aldgate 
for 177/. 10s. ; Cripplegate for 91/. ; and Ludgate for 
148/. Two months were allowed for the removal of 
each, the latter being begun on Monday, August 4th, 
and Aldgate on Monday, September 1st. Bishopsgate 
was sold on Wednesday, December 10th ; and on Wed- 
nesday, April 22, 1761, Moorgate was also sold for 166/., 
and Aldersgate for 91/. It was probably the materials 
of the first of these, which lay in Moorfields, when Mr. 
Smeaton advised their being thrown into the Thames : 
and with so much promptitude was that advice followed, 
that the stones were bought the same day ; horses, carts, 
and barges, were instantly procured, and the work com- 
menced immediately, although it was Sunday morning. 
These particulars are related in the Life of this Engineer, 
attached to his ' Reports made on various Occasions,' 
vol. i., London, 1812, 4to, p. xix. 



39G CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

" Whilst we are speaking of this alteration of London 
Bridge, it seems to be a proper place to say something of 
the massive features of our ancient edifice, and the oldest 
contrivances used for the support of Bridges in general. 
First, then, the Piers are said to be raised, so far as 
their nature can at present be known, upon rough piles 
of oak and elm, shod with iron, and driven very close, 
but apparently not fastened. Upon the heads of these 
are frequently found pieces of plank, chiefly oak, 4 to 6 
inches in thickness ; and the insides of the Piers are 
filled up with rubble laid in mortar. This kind of 
building is supposed to have been anciently used when 
the bed of the river could not be laid dry ; and the stilts 
or piles were then surrounded by a row of other piles 
and planks, like a wall, called a Sterling or Jettee, the 
vacant spaces of which were filled with loose stones, &c., 
to the top. The inconveniences attending such a method 
are, however, so great, that it is now entirely disused : 
as, on account of the very loose composition of the Piers, 
they must be made hoth large and broad, to prevent 
their entire destruction upon drawing the centre of the 
Arch. This great breadth, also, very materially con- 
tracts the water-way, and incommodes navigation ; whilst 
the Sterling itself is in considerable danger of bursting/' 

" But, Mr. Postern/' said I, as the Antiquary arrived 
at this part of his narrative, " although Maitland tells 
us, in his ' History,' vol. i. p. 46, and vol. ii. p. 1349, 
that the use of Coffer-dams, or Caissons, for building 
of the Piers of Bridges, was first introduced into the 
Thames at the erection of Westminster Bridge, yet it 
has been supposed that even this of London was con- 
structed somewhat after the same plan ; and that those 
Sterlings are but the upper parts of the machines them- 
selves, left in the water to guard the Piers : though it is 
certain, that in most of the Reports, illustrative of the 
great repair of London Bridge, the Sterlings are men- 
tioned as additions to the original structure for the 



1761.] LONDON BRIDGE. 397 

support of the Piers. I have been obligingly furnished, 
however, with an interesting drawing and extract from 
the MS. Journal of Mr. William Knight, of Mr. Rennie's 
office, by which we are enabled to understand the con- 
struction of these parts of the Bridge in a much clearer 
and more perfect manner. Mr. Knight observes, that 
having received several different statements as to the 
way in which the Piers of the old London Bridge had 
been erected, he determined upon convincing himself 
by an actual survey. This he effected on August 14th, 
1821, when an excavation was made for ascertaining 
whether the original structure would support new 
Arches of a larger span ; and then he found it to be 
built in the following manner. 6 The foundation of the 
Piers on the North side, — between the great Lock and 
what is called the Long Entry Lock, — and in the Ster- 
ling round it, appeared to be about three feet above low- 
w T ater mark. The bottom of the masonry originally 
laid of the Pier, is about 2 feet 3 inches above low water- 
mark ; and the first course is laid upon a sill of oak, 16 
inches wide, by 9 in thickness, and perfectly sound. 
Immediately beneath this is a mass of Kentish rubble, 
mixed with flint, chalk, &c, thrown in irregularly, but 
not mixed with any cement. The masonry above the 
sill seems, well bonded together, with good mortar joints, 
but there are no piles under the oak sill. The external 
parts of the pier seem to have been new-fronted at some 
period, — probably at the time when the centre Arch 
was formed in 1759, — as the base of this new fronting 
projects about one foot before the original Pier. There 
are no piles under the original part of the Pier ; but to 
the new part there are some small ones driven into the 
rubble^ — which can be of little service, — w T ith some 
planks laid upon their edges. The new masonry is well 
bonded into the old work.' Mr. Knight concludes, by 
observing that, in all the accounts which he has hitherto 
met with, the old Piers of this Bridge are described to 



398 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

stand upon piles ; but that, as he found this to be erro- 
neous in the present instance, he considers it to be a fair 
conclusion that all the other Piers were constructed upon 
the same principle. His drawing represents a Section 
of the North Pier of the Great Arch of London 




Bridge, showing the original manner of constructing it, 
and the Sterling, or ancient Coffer-dam, standing around 
it ; which, it thus appears unquestionably evident that, 
not having the art to pump dry, was filled up with loose 
stones. The Arch on the right hand is denominated the 
Long Entry Lock, and that on the left is a part of the 
Great Arch in the centre. I should remark, also, that 
Mr. Knight has examined several other parts of this 
edifice with no less care and industry, in order to ascer- 
tain the plans adopted at the famous alteration of Lon- 
don Bridge, of which we are now speaking ; of all of 
which observations he has made interesting sketches and 
memoranda. He states that he has felt with his mea- 
suring rods the timber, &c, placed in the river to 
strengthen the piers of the Great Arch, and that his 
sounding leads have been broken by catching in it. In 
April, 1826, the opening of the roadway of London 
Bridge for throwing of two more Arches into one, to 
increase the water-way during the building of the New 
Bridge, also made a curious discovery of many of the 



1761.] LONDON BRIDGE. 309 

more ancient parts of the original building. The crowns 
of the old Arches, observes Mr. Knight, were about 8 
feet 6 inches from the present surface of the ground, 
which appeared to have been raised at different periods ; 
and five several strata were evidently to be traced over 
the centre of the original Bridge, which was 20 feet in 
width. Immediately over the crowns of the Arches was 
a layer of fine gravel, about 20 inches in depth, perhaps 
the ancient roadway, as its upper surface had the appear- 
ance of being trodden down and dirty, when contrasted 
with that beneath it. The next stratum consisted of 
mixed chalk and gravel ; the third of made ground of 
various materials ; the fourth, a thick layer of burnt 
wood, ruins, and black earth ; and the last, another bed 
of different substances, over which was the granite paving. 
The filling- in between the Arches was composed of chalk 
and mortar, of so hard a nature, that it was taken out 
with great difficulty. With respect to the building 
itself, he observes, that the stone of which the Arches 
were formed, consists of two courses : that of the sof- 
fits, or flying ribs, being Merstham Fire-stone, and the 
course above very similar to the stone of Caen, or Nor- 
mandy. In the additions, or casings, on each side of the 
original structure, Portland stone has been used, as well 
for the facing, as for the Arches ; whilst the backing and 
filling-in, between the spandrils of the Arches, was 
composed of chalk and mortar; which latter was evi- 
dently of a very bad quality and carelessly applied. 
Indeed, the ashler facing had been so little attended to in 
the bonding of the work together, that it is surprising, 
with the great weight behind, the careless manner of 
throwing in the backing, and the slight nature of the 
facing itself, that the whole work has not been thrown 
outwards some time since. Having thus, Mr. Barnaby, 
added these curious observations to your narrative, I 
must once more entreat you to proceed/' 

" After making you my acknowledgments," recom- 



400 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

menced the Antiquary, " for the very curious illustration 
you have now furnished ; and before quitting the Great 
Arch of London Bridge, let me observe, that it contains 
the Trinity Standard of High Water, which is placed 
there for the benefit of persons erecting buildings on the 
banks of the Thames, and originally inscribed upon a 
metal plate, affixed under the Great Arch upon the North 
East side, as it may be seen beneath the centre Arch of 
Blackfriars Bridge. It is at present engraven in the 
centre of each Pier of the Great Arch, in black Roman 
letters, about 7 J feet above the springing line of the Arch, 
or 81 feet over the sterling ; and consists of the inscrip- 
tion,— 



Trinity. 
H. W. 

1800. 



A 



the character beneath being the average point of the 
ordinary rise of a Spring Tide at High Water, which, 
above Bridge, is 14j feet or 15 feet, being 5 feet 3 inches 
above, the Neap Tides. At high Spring Tides, however, 
it has risen 16 feet and upwards ; and in that remarkable 
one combined with a land-flood, on December 28, 1821, 
it rose 2 feet, 10 inches, and five parts, above the mark 
below Bridge. From the official tidal observations of the 
Trinity Company, it has been ascertained, that, from 
Blackwall to London Bridge, the High Water ascends to 
the same level ; and that from the upper side of London 
Bridge to that of Westminster the River is likewise 
generally level, excepting under the influence of winds or 
land-floods. During that of 1821, to which I have just 
referred, the banks of the River, and the marshes and 
gardens above Westminster, were overflowed and damaged 
to a very considerable extent ; which has been attributed 



17^1.] , LONDON BRIDGE. 401 

to the obstruction offered by the present London Bridge 
to the passage of the water towards the sea, as we leam 
from* the c Report of Ralph Walker, delivered into the 
House of Commons, 11th of April, 1823/ 8vo., p. 9 ; 
where he states, that the tides below this edifice, during 
the flood, rose only to the ordinary height, whilst at Low 
water the fall was increased by several feet. This cele- 
brated fall is, of course, most evident at Low water, when 
it is about 4 feet 6 inches, or 6 feet in the Winter season; 
and the most hazardous time for passing through any of 
the Bridge Locks, is probably half an hour previous to, 
or, for barges, the last two hours before, Low water below 
Bridge. The safest time of the tide is at High water, or 
slack Low water : but boats may pass with safety for 2f 
hours after flood, and the last half hour of the drain of 
the tide at ebb above Bridge ; the tide having then flowed 
nearly 4 feet below. Deeply laden barges also take the 
drain through at Low water. The Great Arch is doubt- 
less one of the safest to pass under, and is always used by 
craft and barges; but before the erection of the New 
Bridge works, most of the other Locks were employed at 
the flood tide, when the fall is extremely trifling. When 
the tide is on the ebb, the Arches which are chiefly used 
for boats are, the Draw-Lock, — the 4th from the Great 
Arch, — on ike South ; and St. Mary's Lock,— adjoining 
the Great Arch, — on the North, which is always taken 
on the first part of the ebb. The Long-Narrow, once a 
favourite Lock, is now nearly abandoned ; but the Draw- 
Lock is perhaps considered the safest, and is the most 
generally used since the erection of the New Bridge 
Coffer-dams. The approach, however, is dangerous, and 
requires a skilful waterman, who is obliged to pull his 
boat into the draft or eddy of the dam before he can 
make the Lock. Though the works of the New Bridge 
have at present closed several of the Arches of the ancient 
edifice, yet the 4th and 5th Locks from the Southwark 
end have been thrown into one, with a strong wooden 

D D 



402 CHRONICLES OF [[a. D. 

vaulting, parapet, and road- way above, to increase the 
water-way beneath. Since the commencement of these 
works, the fall of the river has also become less dangerous 
for barges, from the returning tide sooner meeting with 
resistance ; and instead of a direct fall of 6 feet in 50, it 
is now only about 6£ feet in 250. The draft of the tide, 
however, round the Coffer-dams, makes it very difficult 
for lightermen to enter the Locks fairly ; and some of the 
outer rows of piles are driven inwards from their barges 
being carried against them. In 1820 and 1822, the aver- 
age fall at High water was only from 8 to 13 inches ; 
and in 1823, after the removal of the London Bridge 
Water- works, it decreased to between 3 and 4." 

" Mr. Barnaby ! Mr. Barnaby !" exclaimed I, fretted 
by this long digression in the Antiquary's narrative, " I 
protest you really put me out of all patience : there's no 
keeping you to one subject ; for the last of your annals 
referred to that most wearisome alteration and repair of 
London Bridge, which began in 1757 ; and now you are 
bewildered in a discourse on the navigation and tides of 
the Thames ! Truly, it's intolerable V 

" I am aware," replied the placid Mr. Postern, whom 
there seemed to be actually no putting into a passion, " I 
am aware how much these observations serve to lengthen 
and interrupt our history ; but still they are vastly im- 
portant to its illustration. ' Our life,' says an interesting 
and romantic author, c cannot be like an Arabian manu- 
script, all flowers and gold,' and neither can history be 
composed only of the facts which naturally belong to it. 
There must be various incidental notices, seemingly 
unconnected with it, which are at last found to combine 
with the story, and to render it much more intelligible ; 
and if ever, Mr. Barbican, you publish these Chronicles 
of London Bridge, make my words both your defence 
and your apology. The fact is, I really am half unwil- 
ling to proceed to the close of the alterations of this 
edifice, because we have subsequently so few interesting 



1760. 3 LONDON BRIDGE, 403 

particulars on record concerning it ; and other events, — 
excepting the usual unhappy accidents beneath its Arches, 
— are almost entirely wanting. At the time of the for- 
mation of the Great Arch, it appears that the wooden 
Draw- Bridge was first taken away, — though it had then 
long ceased to be used,,— and the present Stone Arch, 
entitled the Draw-Lock, about 30 feet in width, or 16 feet 
between the Sterlings, was erected instead of it. This 
we learn from the c Public Ledger/ of Monday, January 
28, 1760, which states c that the centre of the new Draw- 
Lock Arch of London Bridge is struck ; so that there 
is now a free passage for boats, &c/ In this very Lock, 
however, only a few months afterwards, an accident 
occurred, which might have almost proved fatal to the 
Bridge itself ; and it is thus related in the 4 Public Ad- 
vertiser of Monday, December 29, 1760 : ' On Tuesday, 
a large old French ship, that was coming through the 
Draw-Lock at London Bridge, to be broken up above 
Bridge, stuck in the Lock, aiid still continues there, 
having done considerable damage to the same ; and it is 
thought that she cannot now be got out, but must be 
broken up where she now lies/ The same paper for 
Friday, January 9, 1761, states, that c yesterday the 
workmen, who have been employed, for this fortnight 
past, in breaking up the large French ship that stuck in 
the Draw- Lock at London Bridge, as she was going up 
the river, endeavoured, on the strong flow of the tide, to 
get her through the Bridge, but could not effect it. This 
ship, it appears, was but 18 inches wider than the Lock." 
At length, however, in the same paper for Friday, Janu- 
ary 30, it was announced that ' Yesterday the watermen 
cleared the Draw-Lock at London Bridge of the large 
French ship that stuck there some weeks ago/ 

" The destruction of part of St. Magnus' Church, by 

most authors attributed to the year 1759, but which 

actually took place in 1760, was the cause of a further 

improvement of the North-East end of London Bridge ; 

dd2 



404 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

by the opening of that arched passage beneath the Church 
Steeple, which the wisdom of Sir Christopher Wren had 
foreseen, and provided for, fifty-five years before. This 
destruction, then, took place by a fire, which brake out 
between 9 and 10 o'clock, in the morning of Friday, 
April 18th, at the house of Messrs. Barrow and Reynolds, 
Oilmen, in Thames-street, adjoining to the Church. It 
consumed seven dwelling-houses, all the warehouses on 
Fresh Wharf, with a considerable quantity of goods con- 
tained in them, and the roof of the Church itself; which, 
falling in, very much damaged the pews and altar-piece. 
The organ, the excellence of which we have already 
noticed, was taken away, but was considered to have 
received very serious injury in the removal. The whole 
of this destruction was estimated at 40,000/. ; and it was 
occasioned, says Entick, in his ' Continuation of Mait- 
land's History/ p. 29, by the neglect of a servant, who 
was appointed to watch the boiling of some inflammatory 
substances, and who left his charge on the fire, whilst he 
went to see the famous Earl Ferrers return from his trial 
and condemnation. Before he could get back, the whole 
shop was in flames. Some of these particulars you will 
also find recorded in the c Public Advertiser' for Saturday, 
April 19th, 1760 ; and in the ' Gentleman's Magazine' 
for that year, vol. xxx. p. 199. Before this fire, the main 
body of St. Magnus' Church extended to the Tower, 
which was originally about equal with the houses on 
London Bridge ; but when they were taken away, the 
West end so greatly interfered with the foot-path, that it 
was proposed to take down so much of the building as 
enclosed the tower on each side, and to form a passage 
under the steeple by arches. This plan, however, does 
not appear to have been proposed, until after the Church 
had been repaired ; because the first notice of it, which 
we meet with, is in the ' Public Advertiser' of Monday, 
September 29th, 1760, in the following terms : ' The 
workmen have paved a great part of the footpath on the 



1760.] LONDON BRIDGE. 405 

lower side of London Bridge ; and the tower part of St. 
Magnus' Church has been lately surveyed, in order to 
make some alteration in the lower part thereof, conducive 
to the convenience of the passage of the Bridge/ The 
danger which was supposed to be attendant upon its 
alteration, was probably the cause of delay in its execu- 
tion; but the surveyor who was employed, had the 
ingenuity to discover, that Sir Christopher, conceiving 
that such a convenience must be required at some future 
period, had contrived the arch on which the steeple 
stood, of such strength, that it was essential only to clear 
away the intermediate space to perfect the alteration. 
Still the work proceeded but slowly, since the next notice 
of it is contained in the ; Public Advertiser' for Wednes- 
day, August 4th, 1762 : ' The North and West Porticoes 
adjoining to the tower of St. Magnus* Church at London 
Bridge, are taking down, in order to form a passage to 
and from that building, through the spacious arch upon 
winch the steeple is built ; the South Portico is also 
down, which fronts the Bridge, and makes a very agree- 
able appearance ; and the taking down of the West 
Portico, to compleat that useful work, is in great for- 
wardness.' It was yet, however, almost another twelve- 
month before this improvement was perfected, as we 
learn by the following notice, from the last mentioned 
paper of Thursday, June 30th, 1763 : ' On Saturday 
last,' — 25th, — ' the foot-passage under the arch of St. 
Magnus' steeple was opened ; which, besides the con- 
venience for foot-passengers, makes a very pretty ap- 
pearance. A vestry, built of stone, is to be erected in 
the Church-yard, to front the new Toll-house, just 
erected at the corner of London Bridge.' Before we 
finally part with St. Magnus' Church, I must not forget 
to state, that Malcolm, in his c Londinum Redivivum,' 
vol. iv. p. 31, observes, — though without citing his 
authority. — that, ' in October, 1713, the Rector received 



CHRONICLES OF [a. V, 

an anonymous letter, which discovered a design of setting 
fire to London Bridge, for the purpose of plundering the 
inhabitants. The greatest precautions were adopted in 
consequence, and nothing uncommon occurred/ I find, 
however, no notice of this letter in any of the periodical 
prints of the time. 

" In the mean time, the alterations of the Bridge 
itself were in continual progression; though all the 
buildings were not even jet removed, and the temporary 
Bridge was still standing. The 6 Public Advertiser' for 
Thursday, December 25th, 1760, states that ' notice 
has been given to the people on the West side of London 
Bridge, to quit their premises by the 25th of March next/ 
In the same paper, for Tuesday, February 3d, 1761, an 
advertisement announces, that six houses on the West 
side of London Bridge, from the North end of the tem- 
porary Bridge to the Toll House, were to be sold by 
auction at Guildhall, to be put up at 156/. : and in the 
paper for Wednesday, February 11th, we are informed 
that those houses were begun to be pulled down. In 
your notices, Mr. Barbican, of the tokens issued by the 
tradesmen of old London Bridge, you mentioned two, 
who lived at the sign of the Bear, at the Bridge foot, 
which, perhaps, was the building referred to in the fol- 
lowing passage contained in the c Public Advertiser' of 
Saturday, December 26th, 1761 : c Thursday last, the 
workmen employed in pulling down the Bear Tavern at 
the foot of London Bridge, found several pieces of gold 
and silver coin of Queen Elizabeth, and other moneys, to 
a considerable value/ " 

" By no means unlikely," replied I ; " and I may also 
add, that at this period was probably removed the house 
of the original manufacturer of Walkden s Ink-powder, 
with which we are still familiar. We learn the situation 
of his dwelling by his Shop-bill, an impression of which 
is in the possession of Mr. Upcott of the London Institu- 



1761.] LONDON BRIDGE. 407 

tion, engraven on a copper-plate, measuring 6£ inches by 
4£. Within a double line, and beneath an ornamented 
compartment, containing a Bell, is inscribed : — 

' Richard Walkden, Stationer at y e Bell on London Bridge, 
near St. Magnus Church, Makes and Sells nil Sorts of Ac- 
comptants and Shopkeepers Books, ye greatest Variety of 
Paper -Hangings for Rooms, and all other Sorts of Stationary 
Wares, Wholesale or Retail at the Lowest Prices. Where 
may be had Bibles, Common Prayers, Testaments, Psalters, 
&c. A T . B. He is also the Maker of the fine British Ink- 
Powder, for making Black Writing Ink, w<^ h is Universally 
Allowed to Excel all other whatsoever, yet made, and is of the 
greatest Convenience for Country Shopkeepers to make their 
own Ink, to Sell again, as Likewise for Merchants and Sea 
Captains who goe or Send Ventures to Sea, to whom great 
allowance will be given with printed Directions of its Excel- 
lence and Use. At the same place may be had y e best Liquid 
Ink, in its Greatest Perfection. Customers may Depend on 
being Served as well by Letter as if present? 

u I must also take this opportunity of mentioning 
another Shop-bill connected with this edifice, communi- 
cated to me by Henry Smedley, Esq. ; and consisting of 
a copper- plate, executed about the latter end of the 17th 
century, representing a circle surrounded by fruit and 
foliage, having two Cupids standing at the upper corners, 
and containing in the centre, two palm-branches, enclos- 
ing a Sceptre surmounted by a Heart. Round the whole 
are suspended lancets, trepans, saws, &c, and beneath 
the device is engraven, e Sam veil Grover, at the Sceptre 
and heart on London Bridge, who maketh all sorts of 
Chirurgeons' Instruments, the best sort of Razors, Pen- 
knives, Scissers, and Lancetts : there are also the best 
Hoans, and fine Fish Skin Cases.' You may remember, 
Mr. Postern, that one of my former Shop-Bills was that 
of James Brooke, Stationer, c near the Square on London 
Bridge/ This Square was formed in the first opening on 
the Bridge, above the 8th Arch from the North end, 
called St. Mary's Lock. It was surrounded by massive 
iron rails, and Mr. J. T. Smith, in his ' Antiquities of 



408 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

London,' p. 26, states, that when the houses were taken 
down, the iron-work was bought by several inhabitants 
of the Parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, and placed 
upon the dwarf wall on the Eastern side of the Church- 
yard, where it is yet to be seen." 

" I have again to offer you my thanks," answered the 
Antiquary , " for your very curious and recherche illustra- 
tions ; and we will now close up the year 1761 by stating, 
that we are informed by the ' Continuation of Maitland's 
History,' p. 35, that on Monday, February 2d, the tide 
flowed so short up the Thames, that at high- water there 
was not sufficient to cover the Sterlings ; so that several 
persons waded over, both above, and a little below, the 
Bridge at low water. We may, I think, fairly consider 
the history of Old London Bridge terminated at this 
place ; since the alterations we have recently described 
made its features almost such as we now behold them, 
I should not forget, however, that one of the last pieces 
of poetry connected with it, was written by the famous 
Anne Killegrew, celebrated by Dryden, and entitled i On 
my Aunt, Mrs. A. K. Drown'd under London Bridge in 
the Queens Bardge : Anno 1641/ You will find it 
printed in Southey's ' Specimens of the later English 
Poets/ London, 1807, 8vo. vol. i. p. 15. 

" As we are informed by the c Public Advertiser' of 
Monday, June 7th, 1762, that the workmen had then 
begun to lay down the iron pipes, for the conveyance of 
water from London Bridge into the Borough, we may 
conclude that the stone- work of the edifice was then 
perfect ; although, from those pipes leaking between the 
stones, there arose a report that the new Bridge was 
falling to pieces, which was, some years after, the origin 
of a particular inquiry. 

" The destructive effects of some very high tides, 
which happened early in 1763, are the principal events 
connected with London Bridge at that period ; as the 
4 Continuation of Maitland's History/ p. 48, informs us 



1?63.] LONDON BRIDGE. 409 

that, on Tuesday, February 15th, the tide rose to such 
a height in the River, that many parts of Westminster 
were overflowed ; and, below London Bridge, the inha- 
bitants of Tooley Street were obliged to keep to their 
upper rooms. In the ' Public Advertiser of the follow- 
ing Thursday, it is stated that the damage done to 
goods in warehouses adjoining the Thames was esti- 
mated at upwards of 20,000/.; the great land-floods 
having occasioned the water to rise higher than it had 
ever been known. That the Bridge itself was in some 
danger, may be inferred from the same paper of Wed- 
nesday, February 23rd, where it is recorded that ' three 
engines are at work driving piles, for the security of the 
large Arch of London Bridge ; some of the small ones, 
it is said, will be entirely stopt, to prevent the water 
from ebbing away too fast/ It was probably this cir- 
cumstance that was alluded to by Mylne, the Architect, 
in his Report to the Corporation of London, concerning 
a new grant to the Water- works, made in June, 1767 ; 
and which you will find in the ' Public Advertiser for 
Friday, July 17th. He there states, that in the begin- 
ning of 1763, the first winter after taking up the Pier 
from under the Great Arch, when the other Arches 
were stopped up with ice, the whole force of the tide 
rushed so violently through it, as to tear up the bed of 
the river, and the Sterlings, being deprived of their sup- 
port, gave way, and left the foundation-piles entirely 
exposed to the water. He adds, too, that only to repair 
this damage, the sum of 6800/. was expended by the 
Bridge Committee. Mr. Smeaton's answers on the best 
manner of enlarging and improving London Bridge, 
delivered on March 18th, 1763, may also be seen in the 
paper last referred to, for Monday, July 20th, 1767, and 
subsequent numbers. In the same journal of Tuesday, 
April 15 th, 1763, it had been related, that ' the water 
in the Thames rose so high on Sunday, that many houses 
on the Surrey shore were two or three feet deep in 



410 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

water ; and at Lambeth, the long walk, by the Bishop's 
Palace, was overflowed, and boats were employed in the 
town to carry people from house to house/ 

" Although the famous winter of 1766-67 continued 
with remarkable severity until January 16th, we find 
but few particulars of it connected with London Bridge; 
excepting that the ' Gazetteer and New Daily Adver- 
tiser' for Monday, January 12th, states that several of 
its Arches were then stopped by the ice, and some acci- 
dents, which happened there, are recorded in the subse- 
quent numbers of the same paper. In a notice of the 
proceedings of a Court of Common Council on Wednes- 
day, July 30th, 1766, also contained in the c Gazetteer 
of the following Friday, it is stated that the Committee 
for conducting the recent repairs of London Bridge made 
the last report of their works ; in which they set forth, 
that they had executed the several trusts reposed in 
them by the Acts of Parliament which I have recited to 
you, and at the same time rendered an account of the 
money then owing for the alterations. Of these it is 
observed by John Gwynn, in his ' London and Westr 
minster Improved,' London, 1766, quarto, p. 120, Note^ 
that they amounted to nearly 100,000/., besides the 
materials of the houses, many of which were new\ He 
adds, too, that the Bridge w T as rendered worse than it 
had been, by the exceeding rapidity of the stream under 
the Great Arch ; and condemns both the appearance and 
effects of the Water- works. Of the remaining debt, 
then, the Court ordered that 8000/. in the Chamberlain's 
hands should be immediately paid; and that bonds 
should be given for the remainder, not exceeding 12,000/., 
redeemable by the City, and bearing interest at 4 per 
cent. The Committee was then dissolved, and the con- 
cerns of London Bridge were again restored to that 
belonging to the Bridge-House Estates. 

, " There seems, however, to have been but little satis- 
faction given by the extensive alterations and improve- 



1760.] IX)NDON BRIDGE. 411 

ments of this edifice ; for, at the very same Court, a 
petition for relief was presented from the Watermen's 
Company, stating that the navigation through the Great 
Arch of London Bridge was very dangerous, from the 
two adjoining Arches on the North side being stopped 
up; and vessels being caught in the eddy it occasioned, 
received considerable damage before they could escape, 
which had sometimes occasioned the loss of life. It was 
soon discovered, too, that the iron pipes belonging to the 
Water-works, laid across the Bridge, had greatly injured 
the stone- work and crowns of the Arches, by frequent 
leaking; whilst the piers of the Great Arch were 
weakened, and the current of the tide was altered, by a 
new Arch being granted to the Water- works. These 
particulars are noticed in the ' Gazetteer of Thursday, 
October 23rd, 1766; whilst in the ' Public Advertiser 
for Tuesday, November 4th, and the former paper for 
Saturday, November 22nd, a report is mentioned of 
entirely removing both the Bridge and Water-works, 
and greatly improving the whole of their vicinity. In 
the c Gazetteer,' too, for Friday and Monday, December 
5th and 8th, the dirty and dusty state of the Bridge is 
mentioned as arising from total neglect of cleaning and 
watering it, though the usual advertisements for their 
performance were then publishing. 

" For the consideration and removal of these defects, 
a very fair opportunity was now offered; a Committee 
of the Proprietors of the Water- works having presented 
a petition to the Corporation, for renting, and erecting 
a wheel in, the 5th Arch at the North end of London 
Bridge, which had been referred to a Committee, to 
examine, and report upon. This petition was read at 
the Court of Common Council on Thursday, November 
28th, 1765, as we ]earn by the i Public Advertiser' of 
the following day; and you will find a copy of it in the 
same paper for Friday, July 3rd, 1767, forming part of 
a series of 13 official documents, on the subject, inserted 



412 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

in that journal down to Thursday, July 23rd, of the 
same year. I have already had occasion slightly to 
notice these proceedings, of which you may find several 
particulars in the ' Gentleman's Magazine' for 1767, 
vol. xxxvii., pp. 337, 407; but I shall now give you 
some account of them from these more authentic sources, 
and close up my history of the Water- works with a 
short description of their mechanism, and final removal. 
" The petition alluded to contains a curious historical 
outline of the Water- works at London Bridge, tracing 
their gradual extension from one to four of its Arches ; 
the leases of all which were to terminate in the year 
2082, being 500 years from the time when the original 
grant was made, the remainder taking only the unex- 
pired term. The 1st and 2nd Northern Arches were let 
for 500 years, from November 24th, 1582, at 10s. per 
annum; and the 4th Arch, from August 24th, 1701, for 
381^ years, also at 10 s. per annum , and a fine of 300/. 
The lease of the 3d Arch, however,— -formerly stopped 
up and let to a Wharfinger, — did not commence until 
Michaelmas day, 17^1, when it was granted for the term 
of 321 years, at the old rent ; though the Proprietors of 
the Water- works had made proposals for it in 1731 and 
1743, when it was unoccupied, the last tenant having 
quitted it at Lady-day, 1718. These leases were the 
more readily granted, as it was supposed that the Water- 
works were a protection to the Bridge and the vessels 
below it ; whilst it was asserted that the Arches they 
occupied were but very seldom used, and the lessees 
covenanted to secure their engines by piles, as well as to 
keep the Piers and Sterlings built upon in proper repair. 
Their fire-plugs, too, were to be under the direction of 
the Committee of City- Lands; the Works were not to 
rise higher than the cellars of the buildings on London 
Bridge; and houses in general, in the City and its 
liberties, were to be supplied with water at 20s. per 
annum. In petitioning for a fifth Arch, it was repre- 



1767.] LONDON BRIDGE. 413 

sented, that, notwithstanding the great expense incurred 
for the Water- works, the engine w T as yet inadequate to 
the furnishing at all times a sufficient supply of water. 
The wheels under the other four Arches would never act 
with the same velocity as they did before the late altera- 
tion of the Bridge ; but as the fifth Arch stood nearer 
the central current of the River, the continual flowing of 
the tide would give the works additional power, without 
being any obstacle to the navigation. On the other 
hand, however, several counter-petitions were presented 
from the Wharfingers and Lightermen, stating the 
dangerous eddy at the Great Arch, arising from the 
closing of those Arches, called the Long Entry and 
Chapel Locks, to give force to the current at the Water- 
works ; and praying that they might be opened, the 
middle of the River kept free, or that two Arches at the 
South end might be closed instead of them. We have 
already seen, that these suits made but slow progress ; 
and accordingly we find that the petition from the Water- 
works was first referred to a Sub-committee by the 
Committee of City-Lands, on Wednesday, December. 
4th, 1765 ; to the Committee itself on Friday, Novem- 
ber 28th, 1766 : and on Tuesday, December J 6th, their 
Report was delivered to the Court of Common Council. 
Before these Committees, the Proprietors of the Water- 
works appeared on Tuesday, October 21st, and Wednes- 
day, November 19th, 1766; when the complaints of 
their pipes leaking, and the navigation being endangered, 
were stated, and remedies ordered to be provided. They 
were also asked, whether they would undertake, on 
forfeiture of their lease, ' to keep their engine at work 
during the times of dead high and low- water, when their 
wheels lay still, provided they had leave to raise their 
tenants Is. yearly for every house/ To this they 
ultimately agreed, the additional rent being made 2s. ; 
and to remedy the leakage of such pipes as lay across 
the Bridge for the supply of South wark, it was proposed 



414 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

that they should be entirely removed, the first Arch on 
the Surrey side of the Bridge being stopped up, and a 
wheel erected in the second, 10s. per annum being paid 
for each ; whilst the Long Entry and Chapel Locks 
were to be re-opened. Such then were the measures 
recommended in the Committee's Report, as being with- 
out danger and of general benefit ; but before they were 
acceded to, these particulars were ordered to be printed, 
and a copy sent to some of the most eminent Surveyors 
of the time, Messrs. Brindley, Smeaton, Yeoman, My me, 
and Wooler, whose answers were read to the Common 
Council, on Wednesday, February 25th, 1767. At the 
same time, too, as we are informed by the ' Gazetteer ' 
of the day following, the Proprietors of the Water- works 
were heard upon the subject of their alterations, though 
the decision was referred to the next Court. The 
Engineers generally agreed, that by opening the Long 
Entry and Chapel Locks, taking away the water-pipes 
upon the Bridge, erecting a wheel in the 5th Arch, and 
occupying the farthest two on the Surrey side, the edifice 
and navigation would be generally improved. Mr. 
Mylne, however, recommended that the 5th Arch should 
not be granted ; but that so many Arches at the South 
end should be wholly stopped, as would be equal to 
compensate the Water- works for their loss by the Great 
Arch ; adding, that the pipes were slowly, but certainly, 
ruining the Bridge; and that a Water-company, then 
established in South wark, should be encouraged to supply 
the whole of the Borough. The Corporation, however, 
did not yet come to a decision, but on Friday, March 
13th, 1767, the Town Clerk was again ordered to solicit 
the Engineers to re-consider the subject, and to point 
out the course most proper to be followed. The second 
series of answers, which was read at a Court of Common 
Council, on Tuesday, June 23rd, chiefly confirmed and 
referred to the former. Messrs. Wooler and Mylne 
were, however, decidedly against any new grants to the 



1767-] LONDON BRIDGE. 415 

Water- works, of which they earnestly recommended the 
removal, as well as the opening of the closed-np Arches; 
proposing to substitute a horse, or lire engine, on both 
sides of the river, or closing up three Arches on the 
Surrey shore. Mr. Yeoman also recommended the 
taking away of the Water- works ; whilst Mr. Smeaton, 
considering that the bed of the Thames had become so 
unequal that it would require several centuries to restore 
its level, argued that the stoppage of London Bridge was 
useful both to the Water- works and navigation in general, 
and that it remained only to employ the force of water 
in the most beneficial manner. By his Report the 
Corporation seems to have been determined ; since the 
6 Gazetteer ' of June 24th states, that Mr. Mylne was 
examined, and, after a long debate, the 5th Arch was 
granted to the Water-works, upon the conditions already 
mentioned : though there were, subsequently, several 
disputes on points of law, and particularly upon the 
power which the Corporation had to grant away the 
passage of a navigable river. 

"The 'Gazetteer ' for Monday, Dec. 28th, 1767, 
informs us that the two Arches adjoining the South end 
of the Bridge were, at length, then stopped up, and 
wheels preparing to be erected in each of them ; and on 
the 30th, most of the Locks at that part of the edifice 
were entirely closed by the ice. It was not, however, 
until the year 1770, as we are informed in Concannen's 
c History of Southwark/ p. 233, that the Borough 
Water- works were perfected by the erection of a Steam- 
Engine ; though a part of the machinery was originally 
erected on the River-banks for the supply of Mr. Thrale's 
Brewery, when it was worked by horses. These works 
were then known by the name of their proprietor, which 
was afterwards changed for that of the Company which 
bought them : and an engine erected, wherein the 
pressure of the atmosphere acted upon the steam-piston. 

" I proceed now, Mr. Barbican, to give you some 



416 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

account of the Water- works erected at the North end of 
London Bridge, which were considered to be far superior 
even to the celebrated hydraulics of Marli, in France. 
You are already aware, that the wheels beneath the 
Arches were turned by the common tide-water of the 
Thames ; the axle-trees being nineteen feet in length, 
and 3 in diameter, having 4 sets of arms, 8 in each place, 
on which were fixed 4 rings, or fellies, 20 feet in diameter, 
with 26 floats of 14 feet long, and 18 inches deep. The 
gudgeons, or centre-pins, of these wheels, rested upon 
brasses, fixed on 2 large levers 16 feet long, the tops of 
which were formed of arched timber, the levers being 
made circular on their lower sides to an arch, and kept 
in their places by 2 arching studs fixed in a stock, through 
2 mortices in the lever. To the lower part of the arch 
on the lever was fixed a strong triple chain, the links 
attached to circles of one foot in diameter, having notches 
or teeth, to take hold of the leaves of a cast-iron pinion, 
10 inches in diameter, with 8 teeth in it, moving on an 
axis. The other end of this chain had a large weight 
hanging from it, to assist in counterpoising the wheel, 
and to preserve the chain from sliding on the pinion. On 
the same axis with the pinion were 2 cog-wheels, one of 
6 feet in diameter, having 48 cogs, and another of 51 cogs, 
each working in a trundle of 6 rounds : on this axis there 
was also a winch, by which one man could raise or lower 
the wheels as occasion might require. Near the end of 
tlie great axle-tree was another cog-wheel of 8 feet in 
diameter, and 44 cogs, working into a trundle of 20 
rounds, 41 feet in diameter ; the axis of which was fixed 
in brasses at each end of the lever before mentioned, and 
communicated with iron cranks having 4 necks, each of 
which raised an iron spear attached to levers 24 feet 
in length. To the other ends were fastened iron rods 
and forcing-plugs, working in cast-iron cylinders 4 J feet 
long, 7 inches in bore above, and 9 below, where the 
valves were. These cylinders were placed over a hollow 



I 



1767-] LONDON BRIDGE. 417 

trunk of cast-iron, with 4 valves in it, immediately be- 
neath them ; and as one end of the trunk was furnished 
with a sucking-pipe and grate going into the water, they 
were each filled alternately, and delivered their supplies 
through curved pipes into a second trunk, furnished with 
an iron pipe, through which the water was forced up to 
any height required. These were, however, only half 
the works ; the whole of the mechanism being double to 
each wheel. The first wheel in the Arch next the City, 
worked 16 forcers ; and in the third Arch were three 
wheels, one working 12, the second 8, and another 16 
forcers. Their utmost power of raising water w T as esti- 
mated, from four of the wheels, to be 2052 gallons per 
minute ; 123,120 gallons, being equal to 1954 hogsheads, 
in an hour ; or 46,896 hogsheads daily, to the height of 
120 feet, including the waste, which might be considered 
as a fifth part of the whole. Every revolution of a wheel 
made 2^ strokes in every minute in all the forcers, the 
wheels turning 6 times in a minute at high- water, and 
4i times at middle water ; and it was stated before a 
Committee of the House of Commons, that in the year 
1820, these Works supplied 26,822,705 hogsheads of 
water, It is usual to give Dr. Desaguliers as the authority 
for these particulars ; but I have abstracted them from 
the ' Philosophical Transactions,' already referred to ; 
and they are also printed in Maitland's c History/ vol. i. 
p. 51, whence they have been copied into almost every 
subsequent account of London. After the grant of a fifth 
Arch to the Water- works, about July, 1767, an improved 
wheel was designed by Mr. Smeaton, to be erected at that 
part ; of which two engravings and several particulars, 
together with his remarks on the Water-engine, are in- 
serted in the Second volume of his '* Reports* already 
cited, PL ii. iii. pp. 27-30. 

" I have in my possession a large and curious old draw- 
ing, in colours, representing two elevations, and a ground- 
plan of these Works and the Water-Tower, executed 

E E 



418 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

before the grant of a fifth Arch, or the erection of wheel s 
at the South end of the edifice, which is chiefly interest- 
ing as showing the courses of the main-pipes, then at- 
tached to every wheel for conveying water to the various 
parts of London ; which were connected and furnished in 
the following manner. Bishopsgate Main, supplied from 
the Wheels under the 3d Arch, and Western end of the 
4th, called c the Upper, and Borough Wheels : Cheap- 
side Main, from those under the 2d and 3d Arches, called 
the/ Three-Ringed, and Low Wheels :' Aldgate Main, 
from those under the 2d Arch, and the Eastern end of 
the 4th, expressed by the same name : Fleet-street Main, 
from a small Wheel in the 1st Arch, and another at the 
Western end of the 4th, called ' the Two-Ringed and 
Borough Wheels :' Newgate-street Main, from those in 
the 2d Arch, and the Western end of the 4th, or ' the 
Upper, and Three-Ringed Wheels.' Broad-street Main, 
principally from 'the, Low- Wheel/ under the 2d Arch ; 
though it also derived some water from that at the Wes- 
tern end of the 4th : Grace Church-street Main, from 
those in the 1st and 2d Arches, or ' the Two-Ringed and 
Three-Ringed Wheels : Cannon-street Main, from ' the 
Upper, and Borough Wheels,' or those beneath the 3d 
and 4th Arches : Thames-street Main, from a i Low 
Wheel* at the Eastern end of the 4th Arch : and the 
Borough Main, from the proper Wheel, which was situ- 
ate at its Western extremity, forming ten sets of main- 
pipes in all. At each end of the Bridge, round the Wes- 
tern sides of the Water- works, were wooden platforms or 
galleries, occasionally decorated with plants and flowers ; 
and immediately over the Wheels at the City end, were 
the work-shops belonging to them. Their history is now, 
however, fast drawing to a close : in March, 1817, the 
managers gave notice that they were about to rebuild 
their largest Water-wheel; but, on July 26th, 1822, the 
third Year of King George IV., an Act was passed for 
their entire removal, with a view of improving London 



1767.] LONDON BRIDGE. 419 

Bridge, or erecting a new one. You will, of course, find 
this document in ' The Statutes of the Realm/ by John 
Raithby, Esq., vol. viii., London, 1822, 4to, pp. 1049- 
1054 ; it being chap. cix. of the ' Local and Personal Acts 
declared public / and I shall now give you a slight idea 
of its contents. Having declared, that about 260 years 
of the original grants to the Water- works are yet unex- 
pired, it is enacted that the Corporation of London shall 
raise 15,000/. out of the Bridge-House Estates, for car- 
rying the Act into effect ; 10,000/. of which should be 
paid to the Proprietors of the Water- works, for rendering 
void all their licenses, and transferring all their machi- 
nery, buildings, &c. to the New-River Company ; which 
Company was entitled to commence receiving rents and 
defraying expenses connected with the Water, from June 
24th, 1822 ; and it was also licensed to procure leave 
from the Corporation to cut the River-banks, &c. below 
low- water mark, not exceeding 100 feet from the East 
side of the present Bridge, for laying down pipes, &c., 
saving the City's rights in the Thames ; paying the sum 
of 20s. as a fine for so doing, and 20s. annually after- 
wards. Full powers were likewise granted, that the 
Company might lay down pipes in the streets, and over 
the Bridges of London ; and that it might resign the sup- 
ply of a part of a district to another party, and receive a 
recompense in return ; adding that it should neither be 
compelled to continue the supply, nor be considered to 
have an exclusive right to it. Upon conclusion of the 
agreement, the Company was to remove the whole ma- 
chinery, &c. within the six months following, which 
was otherwise to be taken up and sold by the Corpora- 
tion. The New-River Company was also charged with 
the payment of certain annuities to the former Proprie- 
tors of the Water- works, for the remainder of their lease, 
as well as with the pensions due to their servants, &c. to 
be defrayed out of the rents received. Such, then, was 
the end of the London Bridge Water-works ; and the 
e e2 



420 CHRONICLES OF £ A. J). 

only other remarkable event which I find recorded in the 
year 1767, connected with our edifice, is, that on Satur- 
day, November 28th, about 5 o'clock in the morning, the 
tide ebbed and flowed at this place, and at Greenwich, 
twice within an hour and a half; as you will find recorded 
both in the ' Continuation of Maitland's History,* p. 71, 
and in the c Gazeteer' for Wednesday, December 22d. 

u The year 1768 commenced with so violent and general 
a frost, that its effects were felt equally upon the land 
and the water. ' It is said,' observes the c Gazeteer of 
Friday, January 1, ' that London Bridge is in great dan- 
ger by this severe frost : the most essential of the piles 
which form the Sterlings have been lately observed to be 
quite loose, and playing in the water ; and workmen have 
been ordered, notwithstanding the imminent danger, to 
throw Kentish rag-stone round the piers/ In addition to 
this, there were also several fatal accidents, arising from 
the River being frozen, which were likewise greatly 
detrimental to this edifice. The night of Tuesday, Ja- 
nuary 5, was said to have been the most fatal ever known 
for damage done upon the Thames r one French vessel 
was thrown upon the Sterlings of the Bridge, with the 
loss of her bowsprit, where it was obliged to be kept for 
several days secured by ropes ; and two others were dri- 
ven through the Centre Arch, losing their main-masts, 
and carrying away the lamps from the parapet. Some 
barges also got across the other Arches, and after the 
breaking up of the frost, which was about the middle of 
January, the c Gazetteer' of Thursday, 21st, states, that 
c yesterday a great many tons of Kentish rag-stones were 
thrown under the Great Arch of London Bridge, as a 
supposed temporary remedy against the damage the 
foundation received during the late frost ; an expedient 
productive of infinite ruin to the navigation, as they are 
soon scowered away again, and an accumulating expense 
to the City of an alarming nature/ It is also added in the 
same paper for Tuesday, February 2, that ; the damages 



1768.] LONDON BRIDGE. 421 

done to London Bridge Water- works, in the late severe 
weather, are not yet repaired, though the workmen have 
worked over-hours and on Sundays, ever since the weather 
broke. The last damaged wheel will be at work this 
w r eek/ It had been frequently remarked in the papers 
of this period, that the amount of rents received from the 
Proprietors of the London Bridge Water-works, was 
not, in any degree, proportionate to the expenses of their 
repairs, which were calculated at £2500 yearly ; and in 
the w Gazetteer* for Friday, April 22, 1768, it is stated 
that they returned only £3000 clear of all expenses. 
It is also rather curiously observed, that ' 'tis computed 
that there are drowned at London Bridge about 50 people, 
upon an average, every year; which, as they are the prime 
of watermen, bargemen, and seamen, amount, at £400 
each, to £20,000 per annum.' The ' Continuation of 
Maitland's History,' p. 73, states, that on April 10, in 
this year, the Thames was so remarkably low, that it was 
with difficulty even a wherry could cross it, the sand- 
banks on both sides of the Bridge being entirely dry. 
And now, as I have already mentioned to you several 
particulars concerning the foundation of Blackfriars* 
Bridge, let me conclude this year with a summary notice 
of its completion. The Architect, then, was Robert 
Mylne, Esq. The first pile of it w T as driven in the middle 
of the Thames on Saturday, June 7, 1760; and the first- 
stone was laid by Sir Thomas Chitty, Lord Mayor, on 
Friday, October 31. On Wednesday, November 19, 1768, 
it was made passable as a bridle-way, exactly two years 
after its reception of foot passengers ; and it was finally 
and generally opened on Sunday, November 19, 1769. 
The total expense of this building amounted to £152,840, 
3s. 10d.; exclusive of £5830 for altering and filling up the 
Fleet-ditch, and £2167, the cost of the Temporary 
Wooden Bridge. Until June 22, 1785, there was a toll 
of \d. for every foot-passenger, and Id. on Sundays ; the 
yearly amount of which, from its commencement in 1766, 



422 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

with the purposes to which it was applied, may he seen 
in the ' Second Report of the Select Committee for Im- 
proving the Port of London/ 1799, fol. Append, b 11, 
p. 49. The Toll-house was burned down in the Riots of 
1780, when all the account-hooks were destroyed. 

" And now to return again to our memorials of Lon- 
don Bridge, I do not find, even after the most careful 
search, any particulars of this edifice connected with the 
great Frost of 1785, notwithstanding its extent and seve- 
rity for 115 days; and for that of 1789, though there are 
many descriptions of its appearance both up and down 
the River, there are but few notices of it at this identical 
spot. The c Public Advertiser of Friday, January 9, 
1789, states, that the shipping below the Bridge was in 
considerable danger, from the tiers at Deptford, Green- 
wich, &c, being enclosed with ice ; and that the Thames 
being frozen over on the day preceding, c several purl- 
booths were erected, and many thousands of persons 
crossed upon the ice from Tower- wharf to the opposite 
shore.' The same paper, for the day following, states, 
that the frost had then continued for about six weeks ; 
whilst its severity down the River kept still increasing. 
Passages across the ice, strewed with ashes, were formed 
at Gun -Dock, Execution-Dock, &c. ; and these parts 
seem to have constituted the principal scenes of attrac- 
tion. ' No sooner,' says the ' London Chronicle* from 
Saturday, January 10, to Tuesday, January 13, p. 48, 
4 had the Thames acquired a sufficient consistency, than 
booths, turn-abouts, &c. &c, were erected ; the puppet- 
shows, wild-beasts, &c, were transported from every 
adjacent village ; whilst the watermen, that they might 
draw their usual resources from the water, broke in the 
ice close to the shore, and erected bridges, with toll-bars, 
to make every passenger pay a halfpenny for getting to 
the ice. One of the suttling booths has for its sign, 
4 Beer, Wine, and Spirituous Liquors without a License/ 
A man who sells hot gingerbread, has a board, on which 



1789.] LONDON BRIDGE. 423 

is written c no shop-tax nor window-duty.' All the 
adventurers contend in these short sentences for the pre- 
ference of the company, and the Thames is in general 
crowded/ Another specimen of the humour exhibited at 
this place, was contained in the followiing inscription on 
a temporary building on the Thames, and printed in the 
6 Public Advertiser* 1 of Thursday, January 15 : ' This 
Booth to Let. The present possessor of the Premises is 
Mr. Frost. His affairs, however, not being on a perma- 
nent footing, a dissolution or bankruptcy may soon be 
expected, and the final settlement of the whole entrusted 
to Mr. Thaw.' On Wednesday, January 7, a large pig 
was roasted on one of the principal roads ; and on Mon- 
day the 12th, a young bear was hunted on the ice, near 
Rotherhithe. As usual, too, a printing-press was erected 
near the same spot, of which there is a curious memorial 
preserved in Mr. Crowle's • Illustrated Pennant, vol. viii., 
p. 262, consisting of a bill, having a border of type- 
flowers containing the following verses; afterwards altered 
and adopted in the Frost of 1814, 

' The silver Thames was frozen o'er, 
No diff'rence 'twixt the Stream and shore ; 
The like no Man hath seen before, 
Except he liv'd in Days of Yore. 

On the Ice, at the Thames Printing-office, opposite St. 
Catherine's Stairs, in the severe Frost, January, 1789. 
Printed by me, William Bailey/ The same collection 
also contains a small stippled engraving, entitled c A View 
of the Thames from Rotherhithe Stairs, during the Frost 
in 1789. Painted by G. Samuel, and Engraved by W. 
Birch, Enamel-painter/ The severity of this frost, how- 
ever, appears to have been felt considerably beyond these 
scenes of amusement. The East-India ships were hastily 
sent down to Gravesend ; to which place, and even below 
it, large shoals of ice had already floated, extending 
almost through the whole Reach ; the navigation of boats 
was entirely stopped, and it was supposed that the River 



424 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

would soon be completely impassable from London 
Bridge to Woolwich. Vast quantities of boiling water 
were poured every morning upon the Bridge Water- 
works, before the wheels could be set in motion, and 25 
horses were daily employed in removing the ice which 
surrounded them : whilst at Blackfriars the masses of 
floating ice were said to be 18 feet in thickness, and 
were continually increasing from the many cart-loads of 
snow constantly thrown over the balustrades. ' The 
various parts of the River/ — says the ' Public Advertiser 
of Friday, January 9th, — c present different appearances ; 
in some, the surface is smooth for a mile or two, and 
then rough and mountainous, from the great quantities 
of snow driven by the wind, and frozen in large bodies/ 
Towards Putney Bridge, and upwards, the scene on the 
ice again became really entertaining. ' Opposite to 
Windsor-street,' continues the same paper, c booths have 
been erected since Friday last, and a fair is kept on the 
river* Multitudes of people are continually passing and 
repassing ; puppet-shows, round-abouts, and all the vari- 
ous amusements of Bartholomew fair, are exhibited. In 
short, Putney and Fulham, from the morning dawn till 
the dusk of returning evening, are a scene of festivity 
and gaiety/ 

" At length, the expected thaw commenced with some 
rain, about two o'clock on Tuesday, January 13th ; and 
before night the streets were almost overflowed. ' Per- 
haps/ says the 'London Chronicle,' from that date to 
Thursday, January 15th, p. 56, 6 the breaking up of the 
Fair upon the Thames last Tuesday night, below Bridge, 
exceeded every idea that could be formed of it, as it was 
not until after the dusk of the evening, that the busy 
crowd was persuaded of the approach of a thaw. This, 
however, with the cracking of some ice about 8 o'clock, 
made the whole a scene of the most perfect confusion ; as 
men, beasts, booths, turn-abouts, puppet-shows, &c. &c. 
were all in motion, and pouring towards the shore on 



1794.]] LONDON BRTDGE. 425 

each side. The confluence here was so sudden and im- 
petuous, that the watermen who had formed the toll- oars 
over the sides of the river, where they had broken the ice 
for that purpose, not being able to maintain then* standard 
from the crowd, &c, pulled up the boards, by which a 
number of persons who could not leap, or were borne 
down by the press, were soused up to the middle. The 
difficulty of landing at the Tower-stairs was extreme, 
until near 10 o'clock, occasioned by the crowding of 
people from the shore, who were attracted by the con- 
fusion on the water. The inconvenience to the shipping 
is now increased more than since the setting in of the 
Frost, as no persons will venture upon the ice to fetch or 
carry anything for them, and it is not yet sufficiently 
disunited for a boat to live.' The succeeding number of 
this paper, p. 60, mentions that on Thursday, January 
15th, the ice was so powerful as to cut the cables of two 
vessels tying at the Old Rose Chain, and drive them 
through the Great Arch of London Bridge ; when their 
masts, becoming entangled with the balustrades, both 
were broken, and many persons hurt. The Thames, 
however, continued to be considerably frozen for some 
time after this. I shall terminate the year 1789, by in- 
forming you, that it is stated in the ' Public Advertiser ' 
of Friday, January 16th, that the shares of the London 
Bridge Proprietors, which some years before had been 
worth 3000/. per annum in Life Annuities, had then 
fallen below 2000/. 

" In the years 1793 and 1794, the Great Centre Arch 
again became a subject of consideration ; for, in order to 
confine the rubble which had been deposited there to 
raise and preserve the form of its bed, nine strong beams 
of timber were sunk in it horizontally between the Ster- 
lings, having upright pieces at each end fitting into 
grooves cut in the sides of the Sterlings, which forced 
them down and held them in then* places. This con- 
trivance, however, was only of temporary benefit, for, at 



426 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the excellent survey of London Bridge, made by Mr. 
George Dance, in 1799, he supposed that only two of 
these timbers were remaining, the rest having been 
carried away by the ice. If we remember, indeed, the 
accidents that were continually happening to the Bridge, 
by vessels driving through it at this very part, there can 
be no great reason to wonder at these defences being 
speedily destroyed. So early as January 19th, 1795, we 
find by i Dodsley's Annual Register* for that year, vol. 
xxxvii. p. 3, of the * Chronicle' part, that, about 12 
o'clock, two vessels broke from their moorings a little 
below the Bridge, when the tide drove them violently 
against it. One of them being a large West-Indiaman, 
making the Centre Arch, had all its masts carried away 
close by the board, when it drove through with a violent 
crash, and continued up the river to Somerset House.' 
In 1798, also, the same authority, vol. xl. p. 40, of the 
f Chronicle' part, mentions, that on May 23d, a sprit-sail 
vessel, laden with hay, drove against the Bridge with 
great velocity, and the mast not being lowered in time, 
it struck the balustrades over the Centre Arch and 
broke them away to the space of nearly ten feet ; the 
two persons on board being killed by the stones. But if 
I were to record all the accidents of this nature, which 
are contained in the registers of every year, my narrative 
would be much longer, and more melancholy, than either 
of us would desire ; and I shall add only, therefore, that 
even the timbers, sunk as an improvement to the passage 
of the Centre Arch, were found, in some degree, to injure 
the navigation of the Bridge. For in the examination of 
Mr. M. P. — now Alderman —Lucas, on June 26th, 1799, 
he stated, that the chalk, &c, thrown into the water to 
support the foundation of that part of the Bridge, had 
produced shoals both above and below it ; and, that the 
timbers recently laid there having prevented the rubble 
being scattered, it was stopped up in the wake of the 
Great Arch, where it formed a bar. On this account, the 



1799.] LONDON BRIDGE. 427 

last three hours of the ebb-tide, which were always attended 
with danger, became additionally hazardous ; empty craft, 
under 3 or 4 tons burthen, could not go through with 
safety ; and loaded craft could not pass at all at that time. 
The stream being then sunk below the level of the Ster- 
lings, the passage was reduced nearly one half; the fall 
commenced and increased until the ebb was over ; a barge 
of 30 or 40 tons would consequently pass with her bows 
under water, of which it frequently shipped four or five 
tons ; whilst it was impossible for any one to stand upon 
the deck, without holding on to some part of the vessel. 
Let me add, that you will find all these particulars, 
together with a c Plan and description of the Timbers 
sunk in the Great Arch of London Bridge, in the years 
1793 and 1794,' in plate vii. of ' The several Plans and 
Drawings referred to in the Second Report from the 
Select Committee upon the Improvement of the Port of 
London/ 1799, fol. ; and in the Appendix a 5, b 6, and 
pp. 1 9 and 35 of the Report itself. 

" As I do not find that the famous Frost of 1794 pro- 
duced any very remarkable circumstance connected with 
London Bridge, I shall hasten to the year 1799, when it 
again became the subject of considerable inquiry and 
speculation ; the particulars of which are so fully re- 
corded in that Report to which I have now referred you : 
pp. 5 and 6, sec. 2, and Appendix, b 1, — b. 11, pp. 21 — 
49, pi. v. — vii. The amount of these proceedings was, 
that after a minute survey of the Bridge and River, by 
Mr. George Dance, Clerk of the Works, and Mr. John 
Foulds, his assistant, and Engineer to the Water- works, 
executed between the months of May and July, it was 
ascertained, that, provided the Sterlings were kept in 
repair, the structure itself was likely to stand for ages. 
These defences, they added, had then been recently 
altered and improved in shape, size, and construction, so 
as to retain the chalk, &c, with which they were then 
filling; and though there were many fractures in the 



428 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

building, they had not increased in the last 30 years. 
The average cost of its repairs had exceeded 4200/. 
annually, for the last six years, and the Wardens' receipts 
for the same period had varied from 9772/. 2*. l^d. to 
24,848/, 10*. 4^d. These financial particulars are re- 
corded at length in the Report, whence we derive our 
information ; c Appendix,' b 10, pp. 38-49, in a docu- 
ment entitled 4 An account of the produce of the Estates 
of the City of London, called the Bridge-House Estates, 
and the application thereof, from the year 1756 to Christ- 
mas 1798;' which may properly be considered as a con- 
tinuation of that paper which furnished us with the 
ancient revenues and expenditures. I should observe, 
however, that the Report still represents the dangers of 
the Bridge navigation ; stating, that, although the stream 
was 10 feet deep under the Middle Arch at low water, 
yet, at the distance of only a few yards below it, there 
were not more than 18 inches. These Reports contain 
also the following engravings. 

" 1. ' Ground-plan and Elevation of London Bridge 
in its present state, 2d July, 1799, taken by Mr. Dance. 
R. Met calf Sculp/ A most curious and interesting print, 
measuring 8 feet 5 inches, by 2 feet ; showing the sizes 
of the several locks ; the different heights of the tides ; 
the singular forms of the Sterlings ; a Section through 
one of the arches and roadway, and the measurement of 
every part set down in figures. See Plate v. in the large 
folio of Drawings, &c. belonging to the Second Report. 
If to these particulars we add the Water- works, the line 
of Soundings taken along the points of the Sterlings, a 
Section of the bed of the River beneath them, and Mr. 
Smeatons new foundation of the Great Arch, we shall 
have the most accurate materials for constructing the 
Ground - Plan and Elevation of Old London 
Bridge {see the engraving opposite). 

" 2. Another print belonging to this Report, consists 
of the ' Soundings of the Great Arch of London Bridge, 



1799.] 



LONDON BRIDGE. 




429 

taken from the top 
of the Sterlings, 29th 
Mav, 1799, by J. 
Foulds and I. K. : ' 
to which are added 
the depths of the 
River, at, and be- 
tween, London Bridge 
& Billingsgate, taken 
at low-water. Plate 
vi. in the same vol. 
The printed Report 
also contains three 
other engravings con- 
nected with this sub- 
ject, from drawings 
made by Mr. Smea- 
ton, to illustrate his 
observations on Lon- 
don Bridge, in March, 
1763, and afterwards 
preserved by Sir Jo- 
seph Banks, with the 
original manuscript of 
his Report. They 
will be found at p. 
25, b 5, of the ' Ap- 
pendix/ and they con- 
sist of — 1. ' Section 
of the Water-way at 
London Bridge, as it 
was before the open- 
ing of the Great Arch, 
and at the beginning 
of Feb. 1763:' — 2. 
6 Plan of the Sterlings 
of London Bridge, 
before the opening of 



430 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

the Great Arch ;' — 3. 4 Plan of the proposed Water-way 
under the Great Arch of London Bridge/ showing the 
bed of rubble, &c. laid down for lining the foundation, 
and the additions to the two centre Sterlings. All these 
engravings, however, you will find reduced upon one 
plate, by W. Lowry, and inserted in Smeaton's ' Reports' 
already cited, vol. h. p. 1. 

" And now, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, though I am 
rapidly advancing towards the end of my Chronicles, 
like the tired post-horse, which exerts all his remaining 
strength when he sees his resting-place is not far, dis- 
tant, though I may not delay my course to enlarge upon 
any part of our subject, yet I think it not only a fair 
opportunity, but a positive duty, to collect all the omis- 
sions that I can remember from the former part of my 
history; ' unconsidered trifles,' as Autolycus says, and 
add them to the end of the 18th Century, which is to us 
the great barrier between ancient and modern times, 

" And firstly, I would observe, that so early as the 
year 1179-80, the inhabitants of the vicinity of London 
Bridge appear to have formed themselves into several 
of those fraternities anciently called Guilds ; though, 
having done so without lawful authority, they were 
fined in various penalties. Whilst they all bore, how- 
ever, the title of Gilda de Ponte, or Bridge- Guild, we 
can only suppose that the members of them lived in the 
Bridge- street, since the stone edifice had been at that 
time no more than three or four years begun. You will 
find these particulars recorded by Madox, in his c His- 
tory of the Exchequer/ chap, xiv., section xv., pp. 390, 
391, note z, and cited from the Great Roll of the 26th 
year of Henry II.; the following being those articles 
which immediately refer to the present subject; ' The 
Bridge-Guild, whereof Thomas Cocus is Alderman, 
oweth 1 mark/ — 13s. M. : ' the Bridge-Guild, whereof 
Ail win Fink is Alderman, oweth 15 marks:' — " the 
Bridge- Guild, whereof Robert de Bosco is Alderman, 



1799.] LONDON BRIDGE. 431 

oweth 10 marks :' — ' the Bridge -Guild, whereof Peter 
Fitz Alan was Alderman, oweth 15 marks/ 

" In speaking, too, of the reign of Queen Mary, I 
omitted to mention that short notice with which John 
Fox has furnished us, of certain ' vaine pageants/ exhi- 
bited to her upon London Bridge. You will find the 
passage in the second volume of that edition of his ' Acts 
and Monuments' which I have already cited, p. 1338 ; 
and it runs thus. ' And the next day, being Saturday, 
the xix. of August, — 1554, — the King and Queene's 
Majesties rode from Suffolk Place, accompanied with a 
great number as well of noblemen as of gentlemen, 
through the City of London to White Hall, and at 
London Bridge, as he entered at the Draw-Bridge, was 
a great vaine spectacle set vp, two images presenting two 
Giants, one named Corineus and the other Gogmagog, 
holding between them certain Latin verses, which, for 
the vain ostentation of flattery, I overpasse/ I can dis- 
cover no other particulars of this exhibition ; but the 
preceding paragraph was copied by Holinshed into his 
1 Chronicles/ vol. ii., p. 1120. 

" In mentioning the tradesmen who resided on London 
Bridge, I ought, also, to have pointed out to your notice 
that paragraph concerning them, first inserted in Strype's 
edition of c Stow's Survey/ edit. 1720, Book i. ; chap. 
xxix., vol. 1, p. 242; where it is said, that c Men of 
trades, and sellers of wares, in this City, have oftentimes/ 
— since the days of Fitz Stephen — i changed their places 
as they have found to their best advantage. For, 
whereas, Mercers and Haberdashers used then^ to keep 
their shops in West-Cheap, of later time they held them 
on London Bridge, where, partly, they do yet remain.' 

" One would expect to find frequent references to Lon- 
don Bridge in the works of our ancient Dramatists ; yet 
my memory supplies me with but very few instances ; 
though I may observe, that Shakspeare has an allusion 
to the heads of traitors erected over the gate of this 



432 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

edifice, in Act iii. Scene 2, of c King Richard the Third/ 
where Catesby says to Hastings, 

' The Princes both make high account of j r ou, — 
For they account his head upon the Bridge. [Aside, 

Another passage, referring to this custom, is also to be 
found in the second Act of George Wilkins's c Miseries of 
Inforced Marriage/ first printed in 4to, 1607, and in- 
serted in Dodsley's ' Select Collection of Old Plays/ 
London, 1780, duodecimo, vol. v. p. 27 ; where Ilford 
says to Wentloe, c S'foot ! you chittiface, that looks 
worse than a collier through a wooden window, an ape 
afraid of a whip, or a knave's head shook seven years in 
the weather on London Bridge ; — do you catechise me V 
In Act v. Scene 1, of Shakerley Marmion s ' Antiquary/ 
originally printed in 1641, 4to, and published in the 
preceding collection, vol. x. p. 97, is likewise the follow- 
ing passage, the idea of which appears to be taken from 
the noisy situation of the houses on the Old Bridge : 
' That man that trusts a woman with a privacy, and 
hopes for silence, may as well expect it at the fall of a 
bridge/ But c rare Ben Jonson/ in his ' Staple of 
News/ Act ii. Scene 1, has a reference to those frequent, 
and almost useless, repairs of this edifice, of which we 
have recounted so many ; since he makes Shunfield say 
of Old Pennyboy, 

• He minds 
A courtesy no more, than London Bridge 
What Arch was mended last.' 

" Jn William Gilford's ' Works of Ben Johnson/ Lon- 
don, 1816, 8vo, vol. v. p. 215, he has rather a violent 
note upon this passage ; in which he says, ' Two hundred 
years have nearly elapsed since this was written; and the 
observation still holds. This pernicious structure has 
wasted more money in perpetual repairs, than would 
have sufficed to build a dozen safe and commodious 
Bridges ; and cost the lives, perhaps, of as many thou- 



1799.] LONDON BRIDGE. 433 

sand people. This may seem little to those whom it 
concerns ; but there is blood on the City, and a heavy 
account is before them. Had an Alderman or a turtle 
been lost there, the nuisance would have been long since 
removed/ As I have already referred to the heads of 
the Regicides, &c. standing over the Bridge-gate at the 
time of the Great Fire, I may observe, that c glorious 
John Dryden/ in his ' Annus Mirabilis,' stanza 223, has 
this solemn mention of them, with a fine allusion to the 
infernal hymns chanted on a Witches' sabbath : 

8 The ghosts of traitors from the Bridge descend* 
With hold fanatic spectres to rejoice ; 
Ahout the fire into a dance they bend, 

And sing their sabbath-notes with feeble voice.' 

See ' The Works of John Dryden/ edited by Walter 
Scott, Esq., London, 1808, 8vo, vol. ix. pp. 144, 186, 
Note xlv. 

" In recording these analecta of Old London Bridge, 
I may also take the opportunity of observing to you, that, 
from about July to September, you may see almost every 
c jutty, frieze, and coigne of vantage, made the pendent 
bed and procreant cradle ' of the small yellow flowers 
and pointed leaves of the Sisymbrium Irio, or London 
Rocket. It probably made its first appearance on this 
edifice soon after the Great Fire of 1666; since the 
famous Botanist, Robert Morison, who lived at the 
period, has a singular dialogue upon it^ in his rare and 
curious c Prseludia Botanica,' printed in 1669; where he 
states, that in 1667-68 it sprang up in such abundance 
from the City ruins, that in many places it might have 
been mown like corn, though London Bridge is not 
specially referred to. A coloured engraving of the plant,, 
with the foregoing particulars, will be found in William 
Curtis's i Flora Londinensis,' London, 1767, folio. Fas- 
ciculus vi., plate 48, marked 311. 

" I have but few other fragments to mention : and 
the first of them relates to the very extensive use which 

F P 



434 CHRONICLES OF [a. J). 

is made of London Bridge as a thoroughfare. What it 
must have been formerly, when it was the only passage 
across the Thames, w T e know not ; but after the intro- 
duction of a toll, the rent at which I have told you it 
was farmed, affords some general idea of its importance. 
In July, 1811, however, when the South wark Bridge 
was projected, the Directors of that Company attended 
one whole day, to ascertain the probable amount of 
passengers, &c. over London Bridge : when it was found 
that 89,640 persons on foot, 769 waggons, 2924 carts 
and drays, 1240 coaches, 485 gigs and taxed carts, and 
764 horses, went across it. 

" But, to descend from the roadway to the foundation, 
I shall next remark, that the natural soil of the Thames, 
where the present London Bridge is erected, consists 
chiefly of black gravel, for about 2 feet in depth, below 
which it is gravel with red sand : and this we learn from 
a table of ' Borings of the River betwixt London and 
Blackfriars' Bridges, performed betwixt the 19th of May 
and the 16th of June, 1800, by John Foulds and assist- 
" ants;' printed in the 'Third Report' of the Port of 
London Committee, Appendix, a. 2, p. 39. 

" Another point, connected with this part of the 
edifice, concerning which I am very desirous of giving 
some little information, is the etymology of the word 
Sterling, or perhaps Starling, according to the general 
pronunciation ; yet, what can I presume to say upon it, 
when we find that, in the meaning of a defence to bridges, 
it is unnoticed in the learned glossaries of Somner, 
Minsheu, Stephen Skinner, Sir Henry Spelman, John 
Jacob Hoffman, Du Fresne, Edward Phillips, Francis 
Junius, Doctors Johnson and Jamieson, and Archdeacon 
Nares ? In the last edition of ; Dr. Johnson s Dictionary,' 
indeed, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, this signification i$ 
inserted, though the Editor candidly adds, c I know not 
the etymology;' and, therefore, it seems alike futile to 
search after, and presumptuous to conjecture it ; how- 



1799.] LONDON BRIDGE. 435 

beit, take what hints I have met with upon the subject. 
And firstly, in a small tract, entitled, c A short Review of 
the several Pamphlets and Schemes that have been 
offered to the Public, in relation to the building of a 
Bridge at Westminster/ by John James, of Greenwich ; 
London, 1736, 8vo, at p. 16, we find the following con- 
jecture. ' It is very probable, that the Stallings — as I 
choose to call them, our workmen, after the Normans, 
having, perhaps, taken the name from the French word, 
creche, which signifies a manager, or crib in a stall, — 
may have been much enlarged since the first building of 
the Bridge/ For my own part, however, I am greatly 
inclined to think that the term is of Northern origin, 
not very much corrupted, since the Danish word Staer, 
and the German, Starr, or Starch, a defence, evidently 
appear to be the root of it ; and Christian Ludwig, in 
his ' Dictionary of English, German, and French,' Leip- 
sic, 1763, 4to, vol. i. p. 840, translates the word Starling 
by Stahr, explaining it to be ' a spur to the pillar of a 
stone bridge, for dividing the water/ It is common, in 
most Dictionaries, to consider the word Sterling as 
referring only to that authorized coin, originally manu- 
factured by the Flemings or Easterlings, whose name it 
has made immortal. Even in this sense, however, it is 
still connected with the history of London Bridge ; since, 
in Thomas Hearne's ■' Collection of Curious Discourses,' 
edit. London, 1771, 8vo, vol. ii. art. xliii. p. 316, is a 
paper on the derivation of the expression Sterling Money, 
written by that eminent Antiquary, Arthur Agarde, 
containing a singular anecdote on this subject; which, 
however, I shall give from the original manuscript in 
the Cottonian collection, marked ' Faustina,' e. v., art. 
10, fol. 52 a. ' I suppose,' says he, ' the name came by 
meanes the Easterlinges from vs, being Germaynes, 
brought vp in the mynes of syluer and copper there, 
were vsed here in Englaunde for the reducynge and 
refyninge the diuersyte of coynes into a perfecte Stand- 
ff2 



436 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

arde. As in the beginning of the Quenes Mat 8 raigne, 
they were brought hyther by Alderman Lodge, (w th whom 
I was famylyarlye acquaynted,) by her Mat s order, for 
the refining of o r base eoignes : And this he toulde me, 
That the mooste of them in meltinge fell sycke to deathe 
w th the sauoure, so as they were advised to drynke in a 
dead mans skull for theyre recure. Whereupon he, 
w*b others who had thoversyght of that worke, procured 
a warrant from the Counsaile to take of the heades vppon 
London Bridge, and make cuppes thereof, whereof they 
dranke and founde some reliefe, althoughe the moost of 
them dyed/ This wild and romantic circumstance 
probably took place about the year 1560 or 1561, when 
Queen Elizabeth had all the base coin in the Realm 
brought to the Tower, and melted there; when it is 
supposed that the fumes of the arsenic which it contained 
induced the illness of the foreigners: see Ruding's 
6 Annals of the Coinage,' which 1 have already quoted, 
vol. ill. p. 38, note. When, to these particulars, I have 
added, that you will find a view of part of Old London 
Bridge with the houses, in the sixth plate of Hogarth's 
6 Marriage a-la-Mode/ my reminiscences of this edifice 
are concluded to the end of the eighteenth century/' 

" Well, sir, well," said I, fetching a long breath, 
which sounded a good deal like a yawn, " I know what 
you would say, — another libation of Sack, to the memory 
of Old London Bridge ; in the which I more readily 
join you, seeing that your history of it is rapidly closing, 
and that we are something like the Merchant Abudah, 
in Ridley's Tales of the Genii, when he first saw the 
distant light after his wanderings in the murky caverns 
of Tasgi : though, indeed, Master Barnaby, 1 should ask 
you, on your veracity, if we really are coming to a con- 
clusion, or am I only deceiving myself in thinking so?" 

" No, truly," answered the Antiquary, " I have but 
little more to speak, and you but little to hear ; for, 
.excepting the usual accidents of London Bridge, which 



1800.] LONDON BRIDGE. ^ 

I shall omit to notice, the great employment of the !§£? 
quarter of a century has been coming to the resolution 
of building a new one, and considering the best means 
of doing it. Whilst, however, I give you my hearty 
thanks for your attention and assistance during upwards 
of eight hundred years of our Bridge-history, I would 
only remind you of the great mass of information which 
we have collected upon it ; much of which was either 
never before brought together^ or adapted to it." 

" Why, really," said I, with that kind of half agree- 
ment with which men admit a truth not discovered by 
themselves, " there is something in your remark ; and he 
who next writes the history of London Bridge will have 
some difficulty in finding new materials for it, at least in 
any ordinary authorities. But then, you know, others, 
who are not acquainted with the mass of matter relating 
to it, may accost us with the old Italian saying of, 
c Where the Devil did you get all this rubbish from V " 

" Out upon them for unthankful knaves, then," replied 
Master Postern; " let us console ourselves with the thought 
that virtue rewards itself ; and so, as I see that you are 
again set in a position either for listening or sleeping, I 
shall, for the last time, take up my tale." To this remark 
I nodded assent ; and the old Gentleman thus went on. 

u . The present century, Mr. Barbican, commenced with 
some active exertions for the immediate erection of a new 
London Bridge, upon the most extensive and elaborate 
scale ; of the numerous schemes for which, however, I 
can give you little more than a catalogue, referring you 
for full particulars to various parts of c The Third Report 
from the Select Committee upon the Improvement of the 
Port of London,' 1800, foh, and the large vol. of engraved 
4 Plans and Drawings' belonging to it. It is stated in 
sections i. ii. of the former authority, pp. 4-6, that the 
great, continual, and ineffectual expenses of the old 
Bridge, its irremediable insecurity, and the dangers of its 



436 

CHRONICLES OF LA. D. 

..a, ligation, had induced the Committee to collect infor- 
mation and provide designs for the building of a new one. 
In this edifice it was proposed to construct a free passage 
for vessels not exceeding 200 tons' burthen, to that part 
of the River between London and Blackfriars Bridges ; 
where it was supposed, upon examination, that they 
would always have a depth of from 12 to 15 feet above 
low- water, formed and maintained at only a slight expense 
after the shoals had been cleared away. To ascertain the 
number of ships which might be expected to use this 
passage, the Committee procured an account of the Fo- 
reign and Coasting Trade of London for 1799, with the 
measurements of their masts ; by which it appeared that 
an Arch of 65 feet above high-water mark, at medium 
Spring-Tides, would allow vessels of 200 tons to pass it 
with their topmasts struck ; and that of Coasters under 
that burthen the number was 7248. Such, then, being 
the general design, the Artists, who proposed sending in 
drawings, were directed particularly to consider a conve- 
nient passage over the Bridge, with as little acclivity as 
possible, as well as its access to the principal avenues of 
London ; to the attainment of these objects with the least 
interference with private property ; to the embellishment 
of the Metropolis of London ; and to the length of time, 
and expense of the whole work. The designs presented 
were of three different characters ; being, firstly, for a 
Bridge with a lofty Centre Arch, and a descending cause- 
way leading to some principal street on each side of the 
River ; 2dly, for a similar Bridge having its approaches at 
right angles, and parallel to the shores, to be raised on 
Arches on a new embankment in front of the old wharfs, 
&c. ; and, 3dly, for two Parallel Bridges, enclosing a 
space sufficient for so many vessels as would probably 
pass in one tide, their passage being through correspond- 
ing draw-bridges ; one of which should always remain 
lowered for the use of passengers. See the 4 Third Re- 



1800.] LONDON BRIDGE. 439 

port,' already cited, p. 7 ; and having mentioned these 
particulars, let us now take a glance at some of the plans 
themselves. 

" I. Mr. Ralph Dodd, Engineer, proposed the erection 
of a stone Bridge of six Arches, 60 feet wide, and a centre 
one of iron 300 feet span, and about 100 high, to admit 
shipping up the River ; calculating that the space between 
London and Blackfriars' Bridges contained 3,353,180 
square feet, and would accommodate nearly 1000 vessels. 
As this Bridge was to be erected on the old foundations, 
and even to be built in such a manner over the original 
structure as not to interfere with the passage across it, it 
was to consist of two separate tiers, somewhat in the 
manner of an aqueduct, excepting at the Centre Arch ; 
the lower range consisting of small elliptical Arches lying 
horizontally, and the upper, — which was to be about 100 
feet high, — of segmental Arches. The whole was to be 
adorned with an entablature and balustrade, statues, 
sculptures on the lower Piers, and Corinthian columns 
above them ; and its declivity to extend from the upper 
comer of Monument Yard to St. Thomas' Street, South- 
wark, at an inclination of about 2^ inches in a yard. A 
pictorial elevation and ground-plan of this design, with 
its relative bearing to the old Bridge, are to be seen in 
Plates ii. and vii. of the Plans and Drawings belonging 
to the Third of the Port of London Reports. Vide also 
the - Report' itself, sect. 3, p. 7, and Append, b. 1, p. 49. 

" This Plan, however, having led Mr. Dodd atten- 
tively to survey the foundations of old London Bridge, 
he became convinced of their insecurity and of its im- 
practicability, and, referring to it only as a specimen of 
its peculiar character, he sent the Committee another 
design (2) for a highly decorated Stone Bridge, which he 
proposed to be erected about 40 yards above the ancient 
one, on the East side of Fishmongers' Hall on the North, 
and near Pepper- Alley on the South Shore. It was to 
consist of five elliptical Arches, the centre being 160 feet 



440 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

span, and 80 feet high, the succeeding two 140 feet span 
and 75 in height, and the outer two 120 feet span, and 70 
in height; the structure was to be raised 90 feet from high- 
water, and occupy 210 feet of the river, leaving 840 for 
water-way. The whole was to be embellished with statues, 
columns, &c. ; and the estimate for building it, including 
the avenues, &c. &c, was 350,000/. for a Centre Arch 
of 80 feet ; 332,000/. for one of 70 feet ; and 314,000/. for 
one of 60 feet : the erection to occupy five years. An 
Elevation and Ground-plan of Mr. Dodd's second design 
are in the volume of Plates already referred to, Plate iii. ; 
and farther particulars will be found in the c Report,' 
p. 7, Append, b. 1, p. 51. These plans are also farther 
illustrated by a pamphlet published in 1799, entitled, 
* Letters to a Merchant ;' for which see the 6 Gentleman's 
Magazine/ vol. lxix., part ii., November, p. 965. 

" 3. The next design, upon the principle of a large 
Centre Arch, was by Mr. Samuel Wyatt, constructed 
wholly of cast-iron, with granate piers, and the bulk of 
the superstructure filled up with chalk. This Architect, 
however, sent only a model, without drawings, plans, or 
estimates ; see the ' Report,' page 8. 

a 4. The design furnished by Mr. Robert Mylne, pro- 
posed that a Bridge of 5 Arches, the centre being 60 feet 
above high- water mark, and 150 feet wide, should be 
directed towards the Monument, which was to form the 
centre of a square, and terminate in a new road into Kent 
on the South. The particulars of this plan also propose 
a considerable improvement in all the streets connected 
with the Bridge, as may be seen in the 4 Third Report/ 
Appendix b. 2, pp. 51-56 ; but it has neither estimates 
nor drawings. 

" Mr. Thomas Wilson, Architect of the celebrated 
Bridge at Bishop's Wearmouth, near Sunderland, fur- 
nished a design (5) for one of cast-iron, with stone 
piers, consisting of three large segmental Arches, the 
centre one being 240 feet span, and 65 high, and the 



1800.] LONDON BRIDGE. 441 

two sides of 220 feet : the breadth of the road above 
was to have been 45 feet ; and his estimate for the iron- 
work alone amounted to 55,061/. See the ; Third Re- 
port,' pages 9 and 17, and Appendix c. page 76. A large 
engraving of the Elevation and Sections is also contained 
in the folio of Plans, &c, Plate viii. In section 4, 
article 9, page 1 i of the ' Report/ the Committee appears 
to have given a preference to this design, with the side- 
approaches and improvements of the shores by other 
Architects; it being supposed that an ascent of about 
2J inches in a yard would have been sufficient for such 
a Centre Arch. 

" The next three designs (6, 7, and 8,) were also 
confined to Iron Bridges, and were furnished by Messrs, 
Thomas Telford, Surveyor, and James Douglas, Engi- 
neer, of which only one was published. Their first 
idea was to diminish the ascent by increasing the length 
of the Bridge on the Surrey side, and by placing the 
largest arch nearest the City shore ; its dimensions being 
160 feet span, and 65 rise. Their estimate, including 
some extensive improvements along the banks of the 
River, amounted to 988,154/. ; but this design was parti- 
cularly objectionable, both on account of its unsym- 
metrical appearance, and the inconvenience of its navi- 
gation; and in their subsequent plans, therefore, they 
placed the great arch in the centre, without any other 
material alteration. The estimate for this was 1,041,654/ : 
but their chief design (9) was constructed on the prin- 
ciple of inclined planes gradually descending at the sides 
on to the wharfs at each end of the Bridge, and rounded 
for the convenience of carriages. The edifice itself was 
to be of iron, having an ascent of 2\ inches in a yard, and 
was to consist of five arches decorated with statues, 
trophies, &c, commemorative of the Naval Triumphs of 
England, which were to give it the name of ' Victory 
Bridge.' The principal Arch was to be 180 feet span, 
and 65 high; and the lateral approaches were to be 



442 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

formed upon wharfs gained out of the River by embank- 
ments, and supported also by iron Arches, having ware- 
houses beneath them. As a protection to the Bridge 
and its adjoining buildings, it was proposed that all the 
Arches, but the centre, should be closed at night by a 
chain ; that, in the spandrils of the great Arch, watch- 
houses should be constructed ; and that the communica- 
tions with the wharfs should be cut off by gates. The 
site of this Bridge was proposed to be the very line 
which the New one is now taking, and the estimate for 
it was 1,054,804/. : see the < Third Report,' pp. 8, 9, 17, 
Appendix b. 3, pp. 57-73 ; and Plates ix.-xii. in the 
folio volume of Illustrations. The Report states that 
this plan would prove, in some degree, the most speedy 
and economical, and that it would interfere with existing 
buildings less than the former ; though it is admitted 
that the turns to the ascent would be both inconvenient 
and dangerous. 

" Mr. George Dance, Architect to the City, and Pro- 
fessor of Architecture in the Royal Academy, was the 
only person who at this time furnished the Port of 
London Committee with a design (10) for parallel Bridges 
with Drawbridges for the passage of vessels ; and a single 
glance at the fac-similes of his drawings in Plates xiv.- 
xix. of the folio of Plans, &c, will probably be quite 
convincing as to their inconvenience. The best idea of 
this peculiar design is, however, to be gained from a 
large coloured bird's-eye view of the perfect edifice, 
drawn by the Architect, and engraven in aqua-tinta by 
Thomas Daniell, dedicated to Lord Hawkesbury, and 
published November 10th, 1800 ; a copy of which is in 
volume xiii. of Mr. Crowle's Illustrated Pennant in the 
British Museum. It was intended to consist of two low 
level bridges, one on each side of the present ; containing 
six elliptical Arches, having a drawbridge of two leaves 
in the centre of each, flanked by four round towers 
containing the mechanism for working them, and signal- 



1800.] LONDON BRIDGE. 443 

staffs for flags, or reflecting lamps, to announce which of 
the passages was open. The space between the Bridges 
was to be 300 feet wide, furnished with mooring-chains, 
&c, &c., for securing the ships in tiers, so as not to 
interrupt the passage of smaller vessels. Each end of 
the edifice was to be formed into a grand semi-elliptical 
area, surrounding the Monument on the London side ; 
and the estimate for executing the whole was ] ,279,714/. ; 
though Mr. Dance also sent in two more contracted plans, 
one amounting to 968,677/., and the other to 807,537/. 
In speaking of his Double Bridge, I should observe 
that he was led to the form of it by the great expense, 
steepness, deformity, and inconvenience attendant on an 
Arch high enough for the passage of vessels, which he 
explained in a drawing, marked Plate xiii., in the folio 
volume of Plans, &c. The inclination of Ludgate-Hill 
he found to be the steepest which he could adopt for an 
Arch of 60 feet, and that would have extended the 
approaches from East Cheap to beyond Union Street. 
The principal objections made to this plan were the 
great expense and delay connected with it ; that the 
shipping moored in the basin would be exposed to a 
strong tide, with some danger ; and that, whenever their 
number was considerable, it would be difficult to provide 
for their uninterrupted passage, as well as for that of 
smaller vessels. For all these particulars, see the ' Third 
Report/ pp. 9, 10, 17; and the Appendix d. pp. 77-81. 

" Such, then, were the designs laid before the House 
of Commons ; and the Committee concluded its labour 
for the year 1800 by recommending the rebuilding of 
London Bridge of iron, with a centre Arch of at least 65 
feet above high-water. It was advised, also, that the 
old edifice should remain till the new one were com- 
pleted ; the place for erecting which was opposite the 
West end of St. Saviour's Church, as being the narrowest 
part of the River, and having buildings of the least value 



444 CHRONICLES OF [a. &. 

upon its banks, whilst the Northern end should form a 
street to the Royal Exchange. The removal of the 
Water- works was also recommended ; and the funds for 
carrying these works into effect were proposed to be 
raised, firstly, by a Bridge-toll on horses and carriages, 
which, it was calculated, in 20 years would discharge a 
debt of 100,000/. ; secondly, by a sum charged upon the 
Bridge-House Estates equal to their annual expenditure^ 
which, being taken at 4200/., in 25 years, would amount 
to 105,000/. ; and, thirdly, 100,000/. more were to be 
raised by an additional debt on the Orphans' Fund : this 
sum of 305,000/. being considered as more than sufficient 
for erecting Mr. Wilson s Bridge, and making a proper 
compensation to the Water -works. 

" Soon after the appearance of these resolutions, but 
too late for publication in the Committee's Report, two 
other designs were presented ; an account of which was 
printed in a Supplement to it. The first of these, see 
Appendix h. pp. 143-147, consisted of a design by Mr. 
James Black, Civil Engineer (ll), for a Bridge of 
Granite, with three elliptical Arches ; the centre being 
230 feet span, and 65 high, and the sides having a span 
of 220 feet each : the inclination was to be 2 inches in a 
yard, and the estimate 294,089/. 6s. Two folding en- 
gravings, consisting of a Profile and Sections, will be 
found in Plates xxii.-xxiii. of the Supplementary Illus- 
trations of the folio volume of Drawings. 

" The other design (12) was by Messrs. Telford and 
Douglass, — see Appendix i., pp. 148, 149, — for a cast- 
iron Bridge of a single semicircular Arch, 65 feet high, 
and GOO feet in the clear ; the roadway being 45 feet wide 
in the centre, and increasing to 90 feet at each granite 
abutment, to strengthen the foundation, afford a greater 
space, and communicate better with the inclined planes. 
The estimate was 262,289^., and a very large engraving 
of it, by Lowry, comprehending an Elevation and Sec-* 



1800.] LONDON BRIDGE. 445 

tional Ground-plan, with another outline of the ribs and 
framing, form Plates xxiv. and xxv. of the Supplemental 
folio Illustrations. 

" In consequence of this last design, the attention of 
the Committee was directed to the consideration of a metal 
Bridge with one Arch ; and on their meeting in 1801, a 
series of Questions was transmitted with this last plan to 
Dr. Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal ; the Rev. A. 
Robertson, Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford ; 
John Playfair, Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh ; 
John Robeson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edin- 
burgh ; Dr. Milner ; Dr. Charles Hutton, of the Royal 
Military Academy, Woolwich ; Mr. Atwood of Knights- 
bridge ; Colonel Twiss, of Woolwich ; Mr. William Jes- 
sop, of Newark ; the late Messrs. John Rennie and James 
Watt ; Messrs. John Southern, of Soho, Birmingham ; 
William Reynolds, of Colebrook-Dale ; John Wilkinson, 
of Bradley in Staffordshire ; Charles Bage, of Shrews- 
bury ; and General Samuel Bentham, Inspector General 
of the Naval Works of the Admiralty ; whose answers 
form an Appendix to the c Report of the Select Com- 
mittee for 1801, Nos. 1-16, pp. 9-83. For the Ques- 
tions themselves, see pages 4-7 of the Report : they 
were 21 in number, and inquired the nature of pres- 
sure and gravity in such a Bridge ? whether it would 
be strengthened by increasing towards the abutments? 
how the weight should be distributed to make it uni- 
formly strong ? what weight it would bear ? and what 
force would overturn it at any particular part ? concern- 
ing the form of the Arch, and how to improve it ? the 
importance of models and experiments? the means of 
keeping ships in the centre of the stream ? the propoiv 
tionate strength of the abutments ? the possibility of con- 
structing centering for it, without obstructing the ordi- 
nary navigation? the nature, power, dimensions, and 
method of casting the metal and cement to be employed ? 
how the design might be improved and rendered more 



446 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

durable ? and whether the estimates equalled or exceeded 
the execution of the works ? 

" It was probably the very great diversity of senti- 
ment prevailing in the answers to these inquiries, which 
caused this design to be ultimately abandoned ; for though 
its practicability, magnificence, and excellence, w r ere uni- 
versally admitted, yet there were so many doubts as to 
the actual strength and cohesion of cast-iron, the power 
of the crown of the Arch, the possibility of making the 
structure as one self-dependent frame, and of fortifying 
the haunches without overloading them, that few of the 
returns agreed with each other throughout. Drs. Mas- 
kelyne, Hut ton, and Mr. Rennie, recommended an ellip- 
tical arch ; Professors Robertson, Play fair, and Robeson, 
a circular one : some considered increasing the width of 
the roadway at each end of great importance ; others pro- 
posed making it still wider ; Professor Robeson thought 
it not very essential ; and Professors Playfair and Ro- 
bertson conceived that it took away from the strength of 
the whole. Dr. Hutton, Mr. Robeson, and Mr. Watt, 
supposed that the gravity of the Bridge would of itself 
be so great, that any additional weight would be trifling ; 
and that the mast of a ship striking it, would break only 
that particular part, without damaging the rest, though 
repeated shocks might in time destroy it. For its con- 
struction, however, cast-iron of the soft-grey kind, or 
rather gun -metal, was generally preferred, as well as liquid 
iron for a cement ; which some practical persons consi- 
dered as not adapted for the purpose, and only advised 
the whole to be well fitted together. The papers of 
Col. Twiss and Mr. Watt recommended that the Bridge 
should consist of three arches ; and with that of Mr. 
Southern was sent a drawing, — Plate xxvi. in the folio of 
Plans, &c. — of his method of more securely constructing 
the arch and frame-w r ork. 

" The return sent in by General, afterwards Sir Sa- 
muel Bentham, see Appendix, No. 16, pp. 76-83, instead 



1801.] LONDON BRIDGE. 447 

of considering the lofty Bridge of Messrs. Telford and 
Douglass, was occupied by detailing a new design (13.,) 
engraven by Basire, on Plate xxvii. in the folio of Illus- 
trations. Its principal characteristic was an enlargement 
in the centre, into a sexangular form of more than twice 
its ordinary breadth, having in the middle an octagonal 
basin, spacious enough for a ship to lie in, without touch- 
ing a Drawbridge constructed in each side ; which Draw- 
bridges were to be 30 feet wide, and so contrived, that 
either should be sufficient for a temporary passage ; and 
the vessel having passed through one, it was to be let 
down and fixed, before the other was opened. The edi- 
fice itself was to be of granite, on a rise of an inch in a 
yard, and to have eight segmental arches, with the Draw- 
bridge passage in the centre, guarded by four low round 
towers for the machinery. The estimate was 210,411/. 

" The 4 Appendix,' No. 17, pp. 83-85, contains an 
additional paper from Mr. Wilson, giving a farther 
account of his design, and of a model which he had con- 
structed of it ; and concluding with an estimate of 
163,496/. for the whole work. 

" An interval of several years now occurs before we 
meet with any farther proceedings concerning the erec- 
tion of a New London Bridge ; which I shall fill up with 
some notices of the engraved views of the present edifice, 
and a few memoranda of the other modern Bridges built 
over the Thames. The prospects of this part of London 
are extremely numerous ; since it has not only frequently 
been delineated in separate prints, but is also to be found 
in almost every volume which treats of our metropolitan 
history. Perhaps some of the best representations are 
those drawn by Joseph Farrington, R.A., about the lat- 
ter end of the last century, and engraven by F. C. Stad- 
ler, to imitate the originals. One of these is a large folio, 
and the other will be found in Boy dell's ' History of the 
River Thames/ London, 1794, folio, vol. ii. pi. 16, p. 226. 
A small neat print of London Bridge is also contained 



448 . CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

in Samuel Ireland's 'Picturesque Views of the River 
Thames/ London, 1792, 8vo, vol. ii. pi. 24, p. 221 : but 
etchings of an infinitely superior class, by William Ber- 
nard Cooke, are in his beautiful work of * The Thames/ 
London, 1811, 8vo, vol. ii. plates 16 and 18. Two of the 
most recent views of this edifice were published in Charles 
Heath's ' Views of London/ 1825, 8vo, both taken on the 
Eastern side, by W. Westall and P. Dewint. A per- 
spective elevation of the Bridge, showing the obliquity 
of its arches, and a curious section of the River bed, also 
on the Eastern side, surveyed by Mr. Ralph Dodd, is in- 
serted in the folio volume of ' Plans, &c. belonging to 
the Third Report of the Port of London Committee/ 
Plate vii. ; and the same Engineer has likewise given a 
large and interesting print of the ' South Pier of the Great 
Arch of London Bridge/ exhibiting the tw r o chasms in it, 
the iron clamps which hold it together, and a section of 
the water-way. See Plate vi. of the same volume, and 
the Report itself, Appendix, b. 1, p. 52*. A similar re- 
presentation was furnished by Mr. Mylne, and is marked, 
' Drawing, c/ on Plate i. of the same Illustrations : it 
consists of a profile through the middle of the Great 
Arch, taken at still low water in 1767, and shows the 
excavations above and below Bridge, made by the rush- 
ing of the current. The remainder of this Plate is occu- 
pied by Tables of Soundings, Measurements, &c, at 
various points of the River near this place ; and ' A Sec- 
tion of the Locks and Construction of the Piers of Lon- 
don Bridge, as ascertained in taking up of the Pier under 
the Great Arch in 1762/ See Drawing a. Of this I 
have already given several particulars, and in Mr. Mylne's 
paper belonging to it, printed in the c Third Report/ 
Appendix, a. 1, p. 26, he has a curious account of taking 
up the Piers, and its consequent effects. He was at that 
time occupied in erecting Blackfriars' Bridge; and a 
lighterman, named Parsons, employed under him, having 
contracted for removing the Pier, consulted him as to the 



1801.] LONDON BRIDGE. 449 

best means of doing so. Having examined the building, 
he advised his procuring some powerful screws, used in 
raising the heavy wheels of the Water -works, which 
were fastened to the heads of the soundest and securest 
piles. They first drew out a few from the outer row, and 
then some of the original in the interior, when all the 
stone- work which was worth preserving being removed, 
and the remainder thrown into the River, the cross-ties 
of timber and iron were loosened, and the whole Pier soon 
fell into ruins. It was immediately carried away by the 
impetuosity of the fall ; for the other piles being removed, 
the middle of the work was borne off so suddenly as 
scarcely to allow of its construction being examined and 
measured. The Arch being thus opened, the danger at 
first anticipated by Mr. Milne soon followed ; for the 
accumulated volume of water drawn from all the other 
arches acted so violently upon the River bed, as greatly 
to increase the depth and force of the tide ; whilst the 
corrosion spreading to the old Piers of the new Arch, 
attacked the stability of the Sterlings beneath them : 
these defences being only six feet broad under the 
haunches of the Arch, and so close to the Piers, that 
there was neither room to make any substantial repairs, 
nor sufficient space for a pile-engine to act. It was in 
this difficulty that Mr. Smeaton advised the City-Gates 
to be thrown into the River, for transferring the deep 
water to the lower side of the Bridge ; an idea which he 
seems to have taken from Henri Gautier's statement 
concerning the Bridge of St. Esprit. Mr. Mylne remarks, 
however, that the whole of this advice not being followed, 
a farther quantity of 2000 tons of rubble- stone was re- 
commended for the construction of a new bed. And now, 
to come back to my starting- place, and conclude my 
notices of views of this edifice, let me remark, that if you 
would see it with all its interest, with the water rushing 
through its Locks, and the building itself surmounted 
and bounded by the Monument and the Spire of St, 



450 CHRONICLES OF [_A. D > 

Magnus' Church, then the very spot for such a prospect 
is the Eastern Side of London Bridge (see opposite 
page). 

" I come next to perform my promise of giving some 
account of the other modern Bridges of London, and 
shall begin by reminding you that the proposal for those 
at Westminster and Blackfriars was met by a steady 
and violent opposition. This objection to new Bridges 
appears, however, to have existed so early as the year 
1671, when it was first designed to build one over the 
Thames at Putney ; upon the argument of loss to the 
Thames watermen, to the tolls of London Bridge, and 
to the City of London, as natural consequences. You 
will find all the particulars of this subject contained in 
the Hon. Anchitell Grey's c Debates of the House of 
Commons, from the year 1067 to the year 1694/ Lon- 
don, 1763, 8vo, vol. i. pp. 416, 417 : and it is singular, 
that in this discussion the very places at which Bridges 
are now erected, are mentioned as the most improper for 
such edifices. The kind of prophetic objection which 
runs through the whole debate has rendered it a very 
amusing article for modern reading ; and an ingenious, 
but amplified, paraphrase of it was inserted in the 
c European Magazine' for September, 1825, New Se?*ies, 
pp. 20-27. But even in the notes to the Debates them- 
selves, it is stated that ' Experience has at length con- 
vinced us of the weakness and fallacy of the objections 
raised against another Bridge, though private interest, it 
may be presumed, was the principal motive : since, not 
to mention the many Bridges that have been raised 
higher up the River, this Metropolis now boasts,' — 1763 
— 4 without any of the inconveniences, not only a Bridge 
at Putney, but one at Westminster, where use and 
magnificence go hand in hand; to which is adding a 
third at Blackfriars.' The first of these modern struc- 
tures was the Vauxhall Bridge, which was remarkable 
for having had, in consequence of disputes, four Archi- 



1801.] 



LONDON BRIDGE. 



451 




G g2 



452 . CHRONICLES OF [a. B. 

tects, Mr. Ralph Dodd, Sir Samuel Bentham, Mr. 
Rennie, and lastly, Mr. James Walker, who carried the 
design into effect. It consists of nine arches of cast- 
iron, of 78 feet span, # nd 26 above high- water at spring- 
tides ; the first stone was laid by Lord Dundas, as proxy 
for the Prince Regent, about 3 o'clock, on Thursday, 
May 9th, 1811; it was opened in July, 1816; and its 
cost amount ed to upwards of 300,000/. The Strand, or 
Waterloo Bridge, was partly projected by Mr. George 
Dodd, but wholly brought to perfection by Mr. Rennie : 
it has 9 elliptical arches of 120 feet span, and 36 feet 
above high- water at spring-tides; the first stone was 
laid on the Surrey side of the River close to Cuper s 
Bridge, by the Chairman, Henry Swann, Esq., and the 
Directors of the Company, about 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon, of Friday, October 11th, 1811 ; the building 
amounted to about 400,000/.; and it was opened with 
great splendour hy a procession of the Prince Regent, 
and the Dukes of York and Wellington, about 3 o'clock 
on Wednesday, June 18th, 1817, the anniversary of the 
Battle of Waterloo, when it received its name. The 
last was the Southwark Bridge, of which the first 
stone was laid by the late Admiral Lord Keith, at 
12 o'clock on Tuesday, May 23rd, 1815, the Bill for 
erecting it having passed May 5th, 1811. It consists of 
three immense Arches of cast-iron, the centre being 240 
feet in span, and those at the sides 210, and about 42 
feet above the highest spring-tides : the whole work was 
estimated at 400,000/. ; the Architect was the late Mr. 
Rennie ; and the edifice was opened by lamp-light on 
Wednesday, March 24th, 1819, as the clock of St. Paul's 
Cathedral tolled midnight. 

" I come now, Mr. Barbican, to speak of the last Fair 
held on the River Thames, by London Bridge, in the 
beginning of 1814. The Frost commenced with a thick 
fog, on the evening of the preceding December 27th, 
which lasted for several days ; followed by heavier falls 



1-814.] LONDON BRIDGE. 453 

of snow than any within tho memory of man, and con- 
tinuing for almost two days, with very short intervals. 
During nearly four weeks' frost, the wind blew, with 
little intermission, from the North and North -East ; and 
the cold was intense. The River was covered with vast 
pieces of floating ice, bearing piles of snow, moving 
slowly with the tide, or collected into masses wherever 
their progress was obstructed. A thaw, which continued 
from January 26th to the 29th, floated so many of these 
down the River, that the space between London and 
Blackfriars' Bridges was almost impassable; and the 
severe Frost, which recommenced the day following, 
and lasted to February 5th, speedily united the whole 
into one immovable sheet of ice. Even on Sunday, 
the 30th, some persons ventured to walk over it at 
different parts; and on Tuesday, February 1st, the 
usual entries were formed by the unemployed watermen; 
particularly between Blackfriars' Bridge and Three 
Cranes' Wharf, notices being written against the streets 
leading to them, announcing a safe foot-way over the 
River, by the toll on which many of them received 61. 
per day. The standing amusements of an English Frost 
Fair now commenced, and many cheerfully paid to see 
and partake of that upon the frozen Thames, which at 
any other time they would not have deigned to look 
upon. Beside the roughly-formed paths paved with 
ashes, leading from shore to shore, there was a street of 
tents, called the ' City Road,' in which gay flags, inviting 
signs, music, and dancing, evinced what excellent enter- 
tainment was to be found there. That ancient wonder, 
peculiar to the place, the roasting of a small sheep over 
a lire, was exhibited to many a sixpenny audience, whilst 
the provision itself, under the name of ; Lapland Mutton,' 
sold for one shilling a slice i Several Printing- Presses 
were also erected, to furnish memorials of the Frost, in 
old verse, and new prose ; and as I have already given 
specimens of the ancient Thames' printing, let us not 



454 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

pass over this last Great Frost without recording a few 
of its papers. 

c You that walk here, and do design to tell 
Your children's children what this year, befell, 
Come buy this print, and then it will be seen, 
That such a year as this hath seldom been.' 

1 Omnipotent Press! Tyrant Winter has enchained the noblest 
torrent that flows to the main ; but Summer will return and set the 
captive free. So may tyranny for a time ' freeze the genial current 
of the soul ;' but a Free Press, like the great source of light and 
heat, will, erelong, dissolve the tyranny of the mightiest. Greatest 
of Arts ! what do we not owe to thee ? The knowledge which directs 
industry ; the liberty which encourages it ; the security which 
protects it. And of Industry how precious are the fruits ! Glowing 
and hardy temperaments which defy the vicissitudes of seasons, and 
comfortable homes which make you regret not the gloom that is 
abroad. But for Industry, but for Printing, you might now have 
been content, like the Russ and Laplander, to bury yourselves under 
that snow, over which you now tread with mirth and glee. Printed 
on the River Thames, and in commemoration of a Great Fair held 
upon it on the 31st of January, 1814, when it was completely frozen 
over from shore to shore. The Frost commenced 27th of Decem- 
ber, 1813; was accompanied by a thick fog that lasted eight days ; 
and after the fog came a heavy fall of snow that prevented all com- 
munication with the Northern and Western parts of the country, 
for several days. 5 

" Another bill, on the same subject, ran thus : — 

1 Friends ! now is your time to support the freedom of the Press ! 
Can the Press have greater liberty ? Here you find it working in 
the middle of the Thames ; and if you encourage us by buying our 
impressions, we will keep it going in the true spirit of liberty during 
the Frost.' 

" One of the last papers printed on the River was as 
follows : — 

' To Madame Tabitha Thaw. 
Dear Dissolving Dame, 

4 Father Frost aHd Sister Snow have Bonyed my borders, 
formed an idol of ice upon my bosom, and all the Lad-s of London 
come to mike merry; now, as you love mischief, treat the multi- 
tude with a few cracks by a sudden visit, and obtain the prayers of 
the poor upon both banks. Given at my own, Press, the 5th 
Feb. 1814. 

Thomas Thame?.' 



1014.] LONDON BRIDGE. 455 

" During the obstruction of this Frost, the tide did 
not appear to rise above half its usual height ; and about 
the Bridge the ice lay in enormous blocks, where their 
occasional splitting very much endangered the edifice, 
and caused several accidents; one of which forms the 
subject of a highly spirited etching in Mr. J. T. Smith's 
c Antiquities of London/ p. 24 5 representing ; An Arch 
of London Bridge, 



#ix.~ 



mmm 




as it appeared during the Great Frost ; drawn February 
5th, 1814/ This is a North-East view of Prirce's Lock, 
or the 6th from the City- end ; and it is particularly 
curious for showing at once the modern casing of the 
present Bridge, and the ancient edifice beneath it. In 
the evening of Saturday, the very day when this view 
was taken, Frost Fair was visited by rain and a sudden 
thaw, when the ice cracked and floated in several places. 



456 CHRONICLES OF £ A. 1>. 

On the following day, about 2 o'clock, the tide began to 
flow with great rapidity; the immense masses of ice 
were broken up in all directions, and the River was 
covered with wrecks ; until returning industry and the 
rushing current removed every vestige of the last Frost- 
Fair. The features of this British Carnival are in the 
memories of the greater part of the present generation ; 
though, if it were otherwise, the representations of it 
are few and scarce, and generally very inferior. 

" It was, probably, the damage done to the Bridge by 
this Frost, which again called the public attention to its 
effectual improvement, by widening its water-way ; 
and in November, 1814, Messrs. George Dance, William 
Chapman, Daniel Alexander, and James Mountague, 
addressed a Report to a Committee of the Corporation, 
for substituting four large Arches for eight of the present. 
Their estimate amounted to 92,000/., supposing the Piers 
to be strong enough to bear the increased weight ; which 
were to be examined by Coffer-dams, each Coffer-dam 
amounting to about 20,000/. additional ; when, if the 
edifice should be found too weak, the expense would be 
considerably increased. By direction of the Corporation, 
one of the Piers was opened, when Messrs. Chapman, 
and Ralph and James Walker, were nearly satisfied as 
to the practicability of the alteration ; though Mr. Ren- 
nie's confidence in the structure was rather decreased. 
These particulars are given at length in ' An Abstract of 
the Proceedings and Evidence relative to London Bridge, 
taken from the Reports of a Select Committee of the 
House of Commons, the Journals of the Common-Coun- 
cil, and the Committee for letting the Bridge-House 
Estates/ London, 1819, fol., pp. 68-107: and also in a 
Report of a Committee of the House of Commons, 
printed in ' Reports and Evidences relative to Lon- 
don Bridge,' 1820, 1821, fol., pp. 68-107 ; and also in 
a Report of a Committee of the House of Commons, 
printed in 4 Reports and Evidences relative to London 



1821.] LONDON BRIDGE. 457 

Bridge, taken from the Reports of a select Committee of 
the House of Commons, the Journals of the Common- 
Council, and the Committee for letting the Bridge-House 
Estates,' London, 1820, 1821, fol., pp. 49-52. This 
Report candidly states the uncertainty and expense of the 
whole plan, and earnestly recommends the erection of a 
new Bridge, with not more than five Arches, as near as 
possible to the site of the present : adding, from the evi- 
dence of numerous witnesses, the universal agreement on 
the decided advantages to be gained from a free current 
of water, and that the Water- works should certainly be 
removed, whether the Bridge were altered or rebuilt. 
The annual rental of the Bridge-House Estates, amount- 
ing to 25,800/., and the property and stock of the trus- 
tees, 112,000-?. more, were conceived to be sufficient for 
the proposed works; or that the* remainder might be 
raised without levying a toll upon foot-passengers. 

" This Report is dated May 25, 1821, and its strenuous 
recommendation of a new building was a natural result 
of the inquiries of the Select Committee of the House of 
Commons, specially appointed for that purpose ; the Mi- 
nutes of which are printed in the ■ Reports and Evidences' 
already cited, pp. 7-47. This examination of witnesses 
took place in consequence of several Petitions from 
watermen, owners of barges, &c, relative to the danger- 
ous navigation of London Bridge, Mr. Heathfield being 
agent for the Petitioners ; and as the nature of their com- 
plaint is generally known, I shall be very brief in my 
account of it. They stated, then, that the craft, &c., on 
the River having increased one-third within the last 20 
years, the water-way at London Bridge was no longer 
sufficient for them ; since the larger loaded barges, in 
general, went through the Great Arch, which they could 
pass only for about six hours out of 24, or the first three 
after high-water. On this account, there was consider- 
able danger at the flood-tide, because the loaded barges, 
then crowding to get through, were all equally impelled 



458 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

to the same point ; and thus very frequently damaged, 
sunk, or locked together in the Arch. Another cause of 
great danger was the getting on a Sterling, when the 
water had covered it only enough to prevent its form 
being visible ; for if a barge passed over it but a few feet, 
or even inches, and stopped upon not finding sufficient 
water, if it got on the edge, as the water sank, it fell 
over ; or, if in the middle, was detained there until the 
next tide. This evil, too, was stated to be continually 
increasing, from the constant repairs of the Sterlings, 
which considerably extended their size ; whilst much of 
the chalk, &c, being daily washed over, served only to 
fill up the Arches. For barges, however, not exceeding 
25 tons' burthen, St. Mary's and the Draw-Locks were 
both occasionally used at high-water ; but, besides their 
extreme narrowness, — neither of them being more than 
16 feet between the Sterlings, — they are both subject to 
peculiar and contrary sets of tides ; whilst the Sterling of 
the former has so great a projection, that a barge striking 
it would probably go stern foremost into the 4th Lock, 
where it would be detained the rest of the tide, and con- 
siderably damaged or sunk. Omitting the numerous 
accidents at London Bridge recounted in these answers, I 
shall observe only, that some of the Lightermen, &c, 
estimated their losses by it at 190/. yearly ; and that Mr. 
Anthony Nicholl, a Wharfinger at Dowgate, stated, that 
having, in April, 1820, lost goods there to the amount of 
1000/., he could not insure property passing through the 
Bridge, under a premium of 5 per cent. 

" Whilst this evidence, however, seemed decisive as to 
the great importance of a new edifice, the Corporation of 
London appears to have been much more inclined to alter 
the old one ; since, on February 22, 1821, the Committee 
for letting the Bridge-House Estates was ordered to 
attend the Select Committee of the House of Commons, 
during their deliberations respecting London Bridge : and 
on the 22d of the ensuing March, the Select Bridge 



182L.] LONDON BRIDGE. 459 

Committee was also directed to consider of the Report on 
altering the structure, as proposed by Mr. Dance, &c. 
The result of the latter inquiry was given in a Report 
dated April 11, contained in the Tract of Documents 
already cited, p. 78; and it stated that, on March 30, a 
conference having been held with the Earl of Liverpool 
and the Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, the Committee, 
&c, were informed that His Majesty's Ministers would 
not sanction the appropriation of the public revenue 
towards the erection of a new Bridge ; though it was 
considered that tolls might be levied for that purpose, 
From this interview, the Committee was induced to 
recommend the alteration of the old London Bridge, as 
all the proposed funds for building a new one were either 
objectionable or wholly insufficient. The Corporation of 
London having agreed to this return, it was delivered to 
the Select Committee of the House of Commons, where 
evidence was being received on the part of the Corpora- 
tion ; as contained in the tract of Documents before 
referred to, Append. No. 1, pp. 53-129 ; the proceedings' 
lasting from Wednesday, March 23, 1821, to Monday, 
May 14, and the examinations on the part of the City 
being conducted by Mr. Randle Jackson. This evidence 
was divided into two principal parts ; the first being 
intended to disprove the allegations of the petitioners 
respecting the inconveniences ; and the second, that the 
proposed alteration of the Bridge would be both a prac- 
ticable and sufficient improvement. To ascertain whether 
the centre had undergone any recent or continued settle- 
ment, since the great alteration of 1758, Mr. Francis 
Giles surveyed it on March 6, 1821, and found, by a 
spirit-level on the cornice of the Great Arch, that the 
Western side inclined only 2^- inches below a right line 
of 83 feet, whilst the variation on the East was no more 
than 2§ inches ; and even this depression was supposed to 
have taken place soon after the striking of the new Arch, 
as there appeared neither crevices in the joints, nor frac- 



460 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

tures in the stones, as indicating any later sinking. The 
Sterlings and Piles were stated to be in generally good 
repair, though the former had been increased from 4 to 5 
feet each at the Great Arch, to make them of a more 
easy sweep, and form a smoother passage for the current. 
To guard against any increase of depth there, which 
might render the Piles insecure, it was stated that monthly 
soundings were taken and registered, and large stones 
occasionally dropped in, which were found to remain ; 
but it was not the custom to throw them in large quan- 
tities, though the Sterlings of St. Mary's, and the 4th 
and 5 th Locks, had recently received about 153 tons of 
chalk. 

" These particulars were chiefly communicated by 
James Mountague, Esq., Superintendant of the Works 
at London Bridge, and Mr. John Kitching, the Tide- 
Carpenter; but the most interesting and curious evi- 
dence, which was intended to show the nature and 
amount of the Bridge- House funds, was given by Robert 
Finch Newman, Esq., Comptroller of the Bridge-House 
Estates ; and embraced a great variety of information 
relating to the history, property, and officers belonging 
to this edifice. From his answers, it appeared, that the 
real and personal property of London Bridge produced 
an income of 30,503/. 7s, 8d. ; out of which the rental 
of the Bridge-House Estates amounted, in 1819, to 
23,990/. 5*., and in 1820 to 25,805/. 13*. 2d. This 
rental consisted of ' Proper Rents/ or those arising from 
premises within the City ; c Foreign Rents,' derived from 
places without London ; ' Quit Rents,' which have been 
already explained ; and ' Lands Purchased,' or possessions 
formerly bought of the Crown. Before the Reformation, 
we have seen that some of them were subject to the 
expense of certain religious services ; and the ancient 
estate of Stratford, producing a rent of 409/. 4s., is still 
charged with the support of St. Michael's and Peg's Hole 
Bridges there, on which 2467/. 8s. lid. have been laid 



I 



1821.] LONDON BRIDGE. 461 

out since 1724; and 501. per annum are paid as a com- 
position for repairing the causeway. It was farther 
added, that the City was indebted to the Bridge-House 
the sums of 36,383/. 4.?. 6d. in cash, and 9000Z. in 3 per 
cent. Consols ; whilst its capital consisted of 
4 per Cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities, Tested in 
the names of the Chamberlain, Town-Clerk, and 
Comptroller of the Bridge-House Estates .... £54,000 
3 per Cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities . . . . 17,257 1 6 
3 per Cent, ditto, in the name of the Accountant- 
General of the Court of Chancery, to be vested 

in Freehold property . . * 3,860 12 6 

Exchequer Bills, and Cash, for the same purpose 850 J 7 1 

Cash in the hands of the Chamberlain of London, 
as Banker to the Bridge-House Estates, and the 
Bridge Masters, about 4,200 

" The next "branch of the evidence was to show the 
practicability and advantage of the proposed alterations, 
contrasted with the erection of a new Bridge ; Mr. 
Rennie's estimate for which amounted to 450,000/., in- 
cluding 20,000/. for a temporary passage, as it was to be 
erected on the old site, with nearly the present approaches. 
The crown of the principal Arch of this structure w T as 
intended to be 29 feet 6 inches over high- water mark, 
being 14 feet 3 inches more than the present ; and the 
quantity of stone for it was calculated at 70,000 tons. 
The principal argument for altering the old edifice was, 
that the Piers might be examined at low-water, at a 
trifling cost, without Coffer-dams, and in about a month's 
time ; on account of the apparent strength of the fabric 
as discovered in an excavation made in May, 1821, on 
the City side of the North Pier of the Great Arch, about 
14 feet from the Western front. There is a lithographic 
print of this opening, by Mr. James Walker ; and par- 
ticular descriptions of its construction are contained with 
it, in the tract of c Reports and Evidences/ as given 
by that Engineer, Mr. William Chapman, and Mr. 
Thomas Piper, Stone-Mason to the City, see pp. 87, 102, 
111, and 127 ; but with its formation, as examined in 



462 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

this very year by Mr. Knight, we are already perfectly 
well acquainted. As it was found, however, as he also 
stated, that, in all probability, none of the Piers rested 
solely on Piles, they were considered capable of bearing 
a much greater weight than the present Bridge, though 
that was proposed to be lightened in the alteration ; and 
as the Piers of the Great Arch supported the super- 
structure when the depth under it was 24 feet at low- 
water, they were believed to be perfectly equal to carrying 
it with a depth of 10, to which the River-bed was pro- 
posed to be levelled. Mr. Chapman also stated, that 
though a new Bridge would admit of greater perfection, 
yet that the intended alteration might answer the 
purpose, and the whole work be rendered secure, if the 
Sterlings were kept in repair; though he thought they 
might be both lowered and contracted. And should this 
alteration prove even insufficient as to the water-way, he 
considered that two new Arches might be formed at the 
North end, giving an addition of 43 feet, for the expense 
of about 20,000/. each. This alteration was expected to 
reduce the annual repairs of the Bridge, from one-half to 
two-thirds of its former amount ; and abate the quantity 
of the fall of water from 5 feet to 3 inches : though the 
velocity of the stream above-bridge would be thereby 
increased, since a greater quantity of water would have 
to run through in the same time ; and as the tide would 
flow higher, and ebb lower, the inclination of the Rivers 
surface would likewise be increased. This inclination 
amounts at present to 6 inches in a mile, or 1 foot between 
Westminster and London Bridges, at low-water ; and 
estimating it at double after the alterations, it was cal- 
culated by Messrs. James Walker, and Stephen Leach, 
Superintendant of Improvements in the Thames Navi- 
gation, that its effect would extend as far as Kew Bridge. 
They also supposed that the water would ebb sooner from 
the wharfs, and thus leave their barges less time afloat ; 
from all which circumstances, it seemed important that 






1822.] LONDON BRIDGE. 403 

the River should be artificially deepened, the shoals 
cleared, and the whole navigation gradually prepared to 
meet the effects of the enlargement of London Bridge. 

" The last part of the- evidence was intended to prove, 
that the increased* water-way would be more than suffi- 
cient to satisfy the petitioners ; but though the owners 
of the Coal-craft were contented with this, some of the 
Wharfingers still objected to the short time their vessels 
could work, from the rapid flow of the tide ; and con- 
tended that the remaining six Arches on the North 
would collect ice enough to block up the River above 
the Bridge. From these examinations, the Bridge- 
Committee was convinced of the superior advantage of 
erecting a New Bridge, as expressed to the Corporation 
in a Report dated April 12th, 1821 ; though, from the 
difficulty of raising funds for it, unassisted by Parliament, 
on June 2d, another Report was made, stating that a 
Select Committee having attended the House of Com- 
mons, it had adduced evidence to prove the stability of 
the Bridge ; that the inconveniences complained of were 
exaggerated ; and that the proposed alteration was both 
sufficient and practicable : notwithstanding which, how- 
ever, the House of Commons' Committee, in its Report 
of May 25th, recommended a Bill for a new Bridge to be 
presented early in the next Session. 

" These proceedings were followed by a survey of the 
Thames, from the present Bridge to the old Swan Stairs, 
made by appointment of the City, about August, 1822, 
and taken at low-water mark, when the depth w T as found 
to vary from 9 feet to 33J- ; the greatest being at 84 feet 
from the Sterlings, and the least at 290. The measure- 
ments were taken by a line divided into spaces of 12 feet 
by pieces of red cloth, passing betw r een two others ; one 
being extended from the Old Swan entirely across the 
River, and the second from the Sterling points at the 
Great Arch. 

" To procure designs for a new Bridge 5 on June loth, 



464 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

1822, the Corporation advertised premiums of 250/., 
150/., and 100/., for the first, second, and third in merit, 
which produced ahout a hundred drawings ; their 
inspection being referred, November 15th, by the Bridge- 
House Committee, to John Nash, John Soane, Robert 
Smirke, and William Mountague, Esqrs. : whose answers 
were given in three Reports in December, 1822, and the 
following January, and the premiums awarded to Messrs. 
Fowler, Borer, and Busby ; though one of the designs 
of the late Mr. Rennie was that ultimately adopted. The 
rebuilding of London Bridge was then officially referred 
to Parliament by order of the Corporation, February 
19th, 1823, when a Select Committee, formed from that 
for managing the Bridge- House Estates, provided a 
Bill ; though the measure was still a matter of dispute, 
from the doubts existing of its effects on the navigation, 
the expense which it would incur, and on the designs 
already presented. 

" On July 4th, however, 1823, — the 4th year of 
George IV., Chapter 50, — the Royal Assent was given 
to 6 An Act for the Rebuilding of London Bridge, and 
for the improving and jna^mgL^ujtable approaches there- 
to;' whidbrTT^rTnTed in 'A Collection of the Public 
General Statutes/" London, 1823, folio, pages 478-536. 
It commenced by noticing the title of the Corporation 
of London to be Conservator of the Thames, and its 
right to the Bridge-House Estates for the benefit of 
London Bridge ; and after referring to the Acts for its 
improvement and removing the VFater-works, the evils 
of the present building, and the expedience of a new 
one, it then proceeded to give the following powers, to 
remain in force for 10 years. To take down, and sell 
the old Bridge ; either leaving it till the completion of 
the new one, or erecting a temporary structure before 
removing it : to build a new edifice of Granite, either on 
the present site, or within 180 feet Westward, with 
convenient approaches, according to the designs of John 



4824-3 LONDON BRIDGE. 47 1 

j^e venues of London Bridge receives a salary of 300/., 
j^ith other emoluments; and attends all Committees, 
peeping their journals, and preparing their reports, leases, 
contracts, and all other documents; he has also the 
. custody of the records, 6cc, and, being a solicitor, con- 
. ducts all the Bridge- House law-proceedings. The Clerk 
( of the Works is occupied as a general Architectural 
Surveyor, attending Committees, arbitrations, &c, and 
n tnaking surveys, valuations, designs, and estimates. He 
superintends all new buildings and alterations on the 
Bridge-House lands, inspects the covenants and dilapi- 
dations of the tenants ; as well as the time and bills of 
the tradesmen, and the Bridge- House stores, of all 
which he makes reports to the Committee : his yearly 
salary is <500/. The Assistant Clerk at the Bridge 
House resides in the upper part of that building, with a 
salary of 200/. ; assisting the Bridge- Masters in keeping 
and copying their accounts. The Superintendent of the 
Works at London Bridge overlooks and directs the 
repairs, the measuring and examination of the articles, 
and certifies their quantities, &c, his yearly salary being 
100/. The Bridge- House Carpenter is foreman of those 
works, with a residence and 200/. per annum ; he keeps 
the workmen's accounts, and receives and portions out 
building stores; he also sets up marks on the Bridge- 
House estates, and repairs such water-stairs as they 
support The Bridge-House Messenger is employed in 
summoning and attending the Auditors and Committees; 
in delivering notices to the tenants, and in various other 
duties at the Bridge- House, his salary being 36 shillings 
per week. To these officers is added a Collector of 
Rents of Tenants at Will in St. George's Fields, who 
resides in a house belonging to the estate, and is paid by 
a commission of 5 per cent. The manner of letting 
j premises pertaining to the Bridge-House, is, on the 
u expiration of a lease, to have them viewed by the Com- 
g mittee and Surveyor ; when, if the Committee and tenant 



472 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

agree, it is so stated to the Common Council; and, if 
not, the premises are pnt up to auction. Finally, the 
Committee of Bridge-House estates is composed of a 
certain number of Aldermen, and a Commoner from 
each Ward ; but no payments exceeding 1001. are made 
without the sanction of the Common Council, a brief 
statement of the accounts being annually laid before the 
Court, a copy of which is sent to every 'member. The 
accounts and vouchers are then examined by four 
Auditors, annually elected by the Livery, to whom a 
report is. made ; the documents being sworn to hy the 
Bridge- Masters ; and these statements, fairly transcribed 
on vellum, are deposited^ one copy in the Chamber of 
London, and another in the Muniment-Room at the 
Bridge- House. And now, having observed, that these 
particulars were given in evidence before a Select Com- 
mittee of the House of Commons, in April 1821, and are 
printed much more at large in the tract of ' Reports and 
Evidences/ pp. 72, 73, 135-138, here I conclude with a 
parting libation, and many thanks for your long-tried 
attention." 

Such, then, were Mr. Barnaby Posterns historical 
notices of old London Bridge ; in which the reader may 
perceive, that he evinced a fair proportion of antiquarian 
learning, and rather a large share of reading and memory. 
When he had arrived at this period, however, as I 
thought that my own information would enable me to 
add some curious modern particulars to his narrative, 
I addressed him with, u My best thanks are due to 
you, worthy Sir, for your interesting Chronicles of 
London Bridge ; for, although you have sometimes 
been prosy enough to have wearied a dozen Dutchmen, 
yet, by my patience and your perseverance, the story is 
safely brought down to the present day. You have 
steered it, slowly enough, certainly, but surely, through 
all the intricate navigation of the Record Rolls, and have 
carefully avoided several of those rocks of error 3 upon 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 473 

which so many former historians have been wrecked. 
And since the narrative has now reached the building of 
a New London Bridge, pray allow me, so long your 
grateful hearer, to relate the ceremony of Laying the 
First Stone thereof, from my own observation, sketches, 
and memoranda/' 

u My very hearty thanks are yours for that most ex- 
cellent proposal, Mr. Geoffrey," said the old Antiquary; 
" for I am now too far declined into the vale of years, 
to describe modern ceremonials and festivities with the 
spirit of a younger Citizen : whilst you are ' not clean 
past your youth f having yet only ' some smack of age, 
some relish of the saltness of time in you :' therefore the 
story, good Mr. Barbican, the story." 

" You shall have it, Sir," replied I ; " you shall have 
it, and with all the skill I can; though, after your 
highly-finished ancient historical pictures, my modern 
delineations can appear only faint and imperfect. 

" The CofFer-Dam, in which the ceremony of Laying 
the First Stone took place, was erected opposite to the 
Southern Arch called the Fourth Lock, and was con- 
structed of three rows of piles, planks, and earth, sub- 
stantially secured by timbers of great strength and thick- 
ness ; and when the day for performing it was fixed, it 
was officially announced by the following notice : — 

" ' London Bridge. Mansion House, 23rd May, 1825. The 
Committee for Rebuilding the New London Bridge having appoint- 
ed Wednesday, the 15 th day of June next, for Laying the First 
Stone of the New Bridge, Notice is hereby given, that the Foot 
and Carriage-way over the present Bridge will be stopped on that 
day, from Eleven o'clock in the Forenoon until Four o'clock in 
the Afternoon. 

4 By order of the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor. 

i Francis Hobler. 

* N. B. Southwark Bridge will be open free of Toll during the 
above hours.' 

" As the intervening space passed away, the prepara- 
tions for the ceremonial proceeded on a scale of equal 



474 CHRONICLES OP [a. D. 

celerity and magnitude. A Steam Engine, with a high 
funnel, was erected against the City side of the C offer- 
Dam, for exhausting it of water, an entrance to which was 
made through a covered stone recess of the old Bridge, 
on the Northern side of the Dam. The rude and intri- 
cate walling of piles and other erections now hegan to 
assume a more regular appearance ; a platform and 
flight of steps connected them with the parapet of the 
old edifice ; a broad raised passage surrounded the area 
in the centre, and the whole was covered with an awning, 
above which rose numerous lofty flag-staves. These, 
then, were the earlier preparations for this splendid 
water-festival ; and now let us proceed to recount the 
wonders of the day itself. A finer and more freshly- 
breathing air was certainly never abroad, than that which 
cooled the atmosphere and blew out the gaily-coloured 
flags around old London Bridge, on the morning of 
Wednesday, the 15th of June. At a very early hour, 
the workmen began erecting the barriers, which were 
double, and at a considerable distance apart. Across the 
whole space of Fish- Street Hill, from Upper and Lower 
Thames Street, and again at Tooley Street, there stretched 
wide wooden railings, having a movable bar at each 
pavement, with an opening wide enough for one person 
only ; whilst the centre of the Street was divided with 
posts and bars, allowing carriages to pass between them 
also, but in single lines. Within these, at each end of 
the Bridge, was erected a strong screen of rough planks, 
about fourteen feet high, having four gates, answering to 
the former foot-paths and carriage-ways. So long as the 
barriers continued open, the old Bridge was crowded 
with gazers ; who were especially collected opposite that 
part of the parapet which was to form the grand entrance 
to the C offer- Dam ; while on the roofs of the houses, 
and other buildings in the vicinity, were platforms of 
seats, and awnings preparing, which were afterwards 
crowded with spectators ; as well as the Monument, St, 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 475 

Magnus' Church, the towers of St. Mary Overies', and 
St. Olave, Fishmongers' Hall, and the Patent- Shot 
works. Many scaffolds were also erected for the pur- 
pose of letting, the prices varying from 2s. 6d. to 15s. 
each, according to their accommodations j and the fol- 
lowing is a specimen of their announcements, c Seats to 
be let for viewing the Procession, No. 2, Bridge Foot, 
for Laying the First Stone of the New Bridge. Tickets 
7s. and 5s. each :' though more moderate exhibitions 
were set forth in the words, c A full view of the whole 
works, Admission 6d.' Another bill of entertainment, 
also issued on that morning, stated, that c This Evening, 
Wednesday, June 15th, the Monument will be superbly 
illuminated with Portable Gas, in commemoration of 
Laying the First Stone of the New London Bridge, by 
the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor. Admittance 
Sixpence each, at Nine o'clock/ And in the evening a 
lamp was accordingly placed at each of the loop-holes of 
the column, to give the idea of its being wreathed with 
flame, w r hilst two other series were placed on the edges 
of the gallery; though the wind seldom permitted the 
whole of the gas to remain lighted at the same instant. 

" Long before the time appointed for the closing of 
old London Bridge, the River and buildings around it 
were fully occupied with visitors ; the vessels were deco- 
rated with flags ; and crowded pleasure-boats, some 
carrying bands of music, floated round the Coffer-Dam. 
At eleven o'clock, the Bridge was begun to be cleared, 
and that of Southwark opened, for the first and only 
time, toll free. The various entries were guarded by 
constables, who ascertained that every person was pro- 
vided with a ticket ; and before noon, this famous 
passage across the Thames had so completely changed 
its character, that the very striking contrast to its usual 
appearance must have been seen to be appreciated. The 
building of the New London Bridge having been entrusted 
to the following Committee, the ceremonies of this day 



476 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

were also placed under the same direction ; the Members 
being distinguished by painted wands, surmounted by the 
Arms of London and Southwark. These were, — 

" The Lord Mayor, all the Aldermen, and Jonathan 
Crocker, Chairman of the Sub Bridge-House Commit- 
tee ; Robert Fisher, of the Ward of Alder sgate within ; 
John Lorkin, of Alder sgate without ; Samuel Favell, of 
Aldgate ; Henry Hughes, of Bassishaw ; William Austin, 
of Billingsgate ; James Davies, and Sir William Rawlins, 
of Bishopsgate ; William Mathie, of Bread Street ; Jolin 
Locke, of Bridge; Richard Webb Jupp, of Broad Street; 
Thomas Carr, of Candlewick ; Robert Slade, of Castle 
Baynard ; Charles Bleaden, of Cheap ; Josiah Griffiths, 
of Coleman Street ; Charles William Hick, of Cord- 
wainers ; Spencer Perry Adderley, of Cornhill : Hugh 
Herron, of Cripplegate within ; Richard Lambert Jones, 
of Cripplegate without ; James Ebenezer Saunders, of 
Dowgate; Josiah Daw, and Adam Oldham, of Farring- 
don within ; William John Reeves, and James Webb 
Southgate, of Farringdon without; Joseph Carter, of 
Langbourn; Thomas Price, of Lime Street; Robert 
Carter, of Portsoken ; William Routh, of Queenhithe ; 
Peter Skipper, of Tower ; Thomas Conway, of Vintry ; 
and William Richardson, of Walbrook. 

" The Tickets of admission to the Coffer-Dam were 
also issued by these gentlemen, and were, of course, in 
great request ; but their number being limited, and the 
general arrangements peculiarly excellent, there was 
ample accommodation for even a more numerous com- 
pany. The Tickets themselves — and how will they 
not be valued by the curious collectors of a future day ? 
— were elegantly engraven, and printed on stout cards, 
measuring about five inches by eight ; they consisted of 
an oblong elevation of the New Bridge, looking down 
the River, ; Perkins, St. Mary Axe, SculpsitJ having 
beneath it the following words : 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 477 

' Admit the Bearer 

to witness the ceremony of laying 

THE FIRST STONE 

OF THE 

New London Bridge, 
on Wednesday, the 15th day of June, 1825. 
Seal of the {Signed) Henry Woodthorpe, Junr., 

City Arms. Clerk of the Committee. 

N.B. — The Access is from the Present Bridge, 
and the time of Admission will be be- 
tween the hours of Twelve and Two. 
No. 837. 

" These, however, admitted only to the galleries of 
the Coffer- dam, the lowest floor being reserved for the 
bearers of a second Ticket, printed in letter-press, on a 
pale pink card, of an ordinary size, and containing the 
following words : 

'NEW LONDON BRIDGE. 



ADMIT THE BEARER 
TO THE 

Platform Seats, 

on producing the ticket of admission 

with this Card. 

" The general passage was along the outer gallery, 
but the latter admissions were conducted down a stair- 
case, lined with crimson, opposite to the principal 
entrance. Both these Tickets, however, were required 
to be shown only, being intended for preservation as 
memorials, and they were admitted at each end of the 
Bridge. Having passed the barriers, the visitors pro- 
ceeded to the Grand Entrance to the Coffer-Dam, 
which was formed by removing part of the stone parapet 
of the Bridge, adjoining the fourth recess from the South- 
wark end, on the Western side ; the break being most 
expeditiously made just as the Bridge was cleared. It 
was then that the extreme elegance of this entrance 
became perfectly visible. Several steps, covered with 



4<T8 CHRONICLES OF [ A . D. 

crimson cloth, led up to a kind of tent formed of flags, 
gathered in festoons, with roses of the same, and sur- 
mounted by a white flag bearing a red cross, and having 
the Union in the first quarter, the Sword of St. Paul in 
the second, and the Saltire of Southwark in the fourth. 
The roof of this entrance was also formed of two im- 




mense red ensigns, charged with the Union in their 
quarters ; the sides were elegantly divided into arches, 
richly festooned and entwined with flags ; and, on the 
left-hand of the entrance, at the edge of the pavement, 
was erected a board, which stated, that c All Carriages, 
not in the Procession, are, on setting down the company, 
to pass on into Southwark, and return from Southwark 
to take up/ Round the whole of the Dam itself was a 
broad stage ; which formed a most delightful promenade, 
secured from the heat of the sun by the tent above, 
whilst the air, light, and prospect, might be enjoyed 
through the Arches. The Western End of the Coffer- 



1825] LONDON BRIDGE. 479 

Da 3i terminated in a circular form, and presented a pecu- 
liarly beautiful object from the water • whence a series 
of substantial ladders led to the platform : over which 




floated the Union Jack, and a St. George's Ensign. The 
Southern Exterior of the Coffer-Dam formed, how- 
ever, its most magnificent prospect ; especially when seen 
from a point of sufficient elevation to comprise the whole 
extent of its splendid and capacious amphitheatre. The 
nearest objects were the thick and irregular walls of 
discoloured piles standing in the water, from which all 
boats were kept off by persons stationed for the purpose ; 
and on the interior row was the outer gallery of the 
tent, with its decorated arches. The awning above was 
raised on a little forest of scaffold-poles, which would 
have appeared of unusual strength anywhere but by the 
side of the huge blocks of timber immediately beneath 
them : and, over the whole, the breeze unfolded to the 
sun the several banners. In the centre waved the Royal 



480 



CHRONTCLES OF 



[a. D. 




182.5.^ LONDON BRIDGE. 481 

Standard of England : at the Western top of the tent was 
the flag of the Navy Board ; at the opposite point, that 
of the Admiralty ; and above these a rope extended the 
whole length of the building, decorated with about five- 
and-twenty signal-colours, furnished, like all the others, 
from the Royal Dock- Yard at Woolwich. 

" This erection was divided into four principal parts, 
consisting of a floor and three galleries, the whole being 
capable of containing 2000 persons ; nearly which number 
was probably present. The floor was laid 45 feet below 
high- water mark, and measured 95 feet by 36, being 
formed of four-inch beechen planks, resting upon Piles 
headed with iron ; upon which was a layer of timber two 
feet thick, and a course of brick- work and stone, each of 
2^ feet deep. It was surrounded by three rows of seats, 
excepting at the entrance at the Eastern end ; and on 
the NTorth side was a chair of state, covered with crimson 
cloth, having behind it the seats appropriated to the 
Lord Mayor's family and private friends. The whole 
floor was capable of receiving 500 persons, and was 
entirely covered with red baize, excepting at a rectangular 
space in the centre, within which appeared a cavity, cut 
in stone, of 21 inches by 15, and 7 in depth, for the coins, 
&c, over which the First Stone w r as suspended by a strong 
fall and tackle, secured to the upright timbers of the 
Dam. Above the floor was a gallery, containing three 
rows of covered seats, sufficient to hold 400 spectators ; 
and over it were two others ; the lower one, of two rows 
for 400 ; and the upper tier for 300 more. Three other 
galleries also stretched along the cross beams above ; 
whilst a still more lofty one, at the Western end, was 
appropriated to the Ward Schools of Bridge, Dowgate, 
and Candlewick. The general character of the Dam 
was strength and solidity ; the tiers of seats being sup- 
ported by massive cross-beams, wreathed and decorated 
with flags and rosettes ; along the centre passed another 
very thick timber, bearing the uprights and their respec- 
ii 



482 CHRONICLES OP [\\. D. 

tive supporters; and from the roof several large flags 
hung heavily downwards. The taste and ingenuity 
which were exerted in the arrangements, had indeed left 
nothing to he wished for; w T hilst the general security 
was everywhere so palpably apparent, as to dispel the 
apprehensions even of the most timid. Such was the 
appearance of the Interior of the Coffer-Dam, and 

THE POSITION OF THE FIRST STONE, which W$S of the best 

hard Aberdeen Granite, weighing 4 tons. Its measure- 
ment was 5 feet § of an inch long, 3 feet 6§ inches broad, 
and 2 feet 10 inches deep ; containing 50 feet 7 inches in 
cubic measure ; and its situation as nearly as possible the 
centre of the First, or South Pier, on the Southwark 
side. The Company continued rapidly to arrive until 
the barriers were closed at 2 o'clock, when most of the 
seats in the Coffer- Dam w^ere occupied ; and where, to 
lighten as much as possible the interval of waiting, the 
bands of the Horse-Guards, Red and Blue, and of the 
Artillery Company, which were stationed in a gallery at 
the entrance, were employed to furnish frequent enter- 
tainment; Refreshments of Tea, Coffee, Champagne, &c., 
being also liberally supplied by the Committee. About 
a quarter before three o'clock, the Lady Mayoress, and 
her family, came to the Dam in the private state- carriage; 
and at four, a signal-gun announced that the Procession 
had left the Court -yard of the Guildhall, nearly in the 
following order ; passing through Cheapside, Cornhill, 
and Grace- Church Street, to the Bridge, where it was 
received by the Committee, and other members of the 
Common Council ; the principal persons being in their 
own carriages. 

A Division of the Artillery Company, with their Field-pieces. 

Constables. 

Band of Music. 

Marshalmen. 

The Junior City Marshal, Mr. W. W. Cope, on horseback. 

Nathaniel Saunders, Jun., Esq., the Water-Bailiff, and Mr. Nel 

son, his Assistant. 



1825.] 



LONDON BRIDGE. 



483 




484 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

Barge Masters. 

City Watermen, bearing Colours. 

Remainder of the City Watermen. 

Bridge -Masters and Clerk of the Bridge-House. 

Contractors, William Jolliffe, Esq., and Sir Edward Banks. 

Model of the Bridge, borne by Labourers. 

Architect and Engineer, John Renuie, Esq., F.R.S. 

Members of the New Bridge Committee. 

Comptroller of the Bridge- House, Robert F. Newman, Esq. 

Visitors and Members of the Committee of the Royal Society. 

High Bailiff of the Borough of Southwark, John Holmes, Esq. 

Under Sheriffs, George Martin, and John S. Tilson, Esqrs. 

Clerk of the Peace of the City of London, Thomas Shelton, Esq. 

City Solicitor, William Lewis Newman, Esq. 

Remembrancer, Timothy Tyrrell, Esq., M.P. 

Secondaries of Giltspur Street, and the Poultry Compters. 

Comptroller of the Chamber, Lewis Bushnan, Esq. 

Common Pleaders, Wm. Bolland, Esq., George Bernard, Esq. 

Hon. C. E. Law, and John Mirehouse, Esq. 

Judges of the Sheriff's Court. 

Town Clerk, Henry Woodthorpe, Esq. 

Common Sergeant, Thomas Denman, Esq., M.P. 

Deputy Recorder Mr. Sergeant Arabin. 

Chamberlain, Richard Clark, Esq 

Members of Parliament and other Gentlemen, Visitors. 

Sir Humphry Davy, President of the Royal Society. 

The Sheriffs, Anthony Brown, and John Key, Esqrs., Aldermen. 

: Aldermen below the Chair, 

The Recorder, Newman Knowlys, Esq. 

Aldermen past the Chair. 

Visitors, Privy Councillors. 

Visitors, Peers. 

Officers of State. 

Music and Colours, with the Court of the Lord Mayor's 

Company, the Goldsmiths. 

Marshalmen. 

The Senior City Marshal, Mr. Neville Brown, on horseback. 

The Lord Mayor's Household. 

The Lord Mayor's Servants in their State Liveries. 

The Lord Mayor in his State Carriage, accompanied by His Royal 

Highness the Duke of York. 

Carriage of his Royal Highness the Duke of York. 

The remainder of the Artillery Company, as a guard of honour to 

the Lord Mayor. 

" The streets through which the Procession passed 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 485 

were all thronged ; every window was filled with spec- 
tators ; and, on arriving at its destination, the River, the 
Wharfs, the most distant buildings, and even South wark 
Bridge, were equally crowded with thousands of impa- 
tient gazers. It was not, however, until a quarter before 
five, that the field-pieces of the Artillery Company, at the 
old Swan Stairs' Wharf, announced the cavalcade's actual 
approach, when the bands played the famous Yager Chor 
of Weber's ' Freysclmtz.' The City-Watermen, bear- 
ing their richly emblazoned standards, soon afterwards 
entered the Coffer- Dam, when, after the colours had been 
very ingeniously passed between the timbers, and grouped 
around the Stone, it being found that they would mate- 
rially obstruct the view, they were, with similar diffi- 
culty, conveyed back again. The narrow and winding 
passages of the Dam destroyed much of the stately order 
of the Procession ; but nearly the whole Court of Alder- 
men, and a large party of the Common Council, in their 
scarlet and purple gowns, having appeared on the floor 
beneath,- they were followed by the City Officers ; the 
Lord Mayor, in his robes of state ; and his Royal High- 
ness the Duke of York, in a plain blue coat, wearing the 
Garter round his knee, and the star of the order upon 
his breast. In the same part of the Procession also came 
the Earl of Darnley; Lord James Stuart; the Right 
Hon. C. W. W, Wynn, President of the Board of Con- 
trol ; Admiral Sir George Cockburn, M. P. ; Admiral 
Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart., M. P. ; Sir George Warrender, 
Bart, M.P. ; Sir Peter Laurie ; Sir Robert Wilson, M.P. ; 
Thomas Wilson, Esq. M.P. ; William Williams, Esq. 
M.P. ; George Holme Sumner, Esq. M.P. ; and several 
other personages of distinction. 

" The Lord Mayor and his Royal Highness having 
arrived at the state chair, amidst the waving of hand- 
kerchiefs, and the loudest cheers, and having both of 
them declined that seat of honour, they remained stand- 
ing during the whole of the ceremony; which then com- 
menced by the Ward Schools and the visitors singing 



48 6 CHRONICLES OF [ A . j>, 

c God save the King, 1 verse and chorus, in which the 
Duke also joined with great enthusiasm. The Lord 
Mayor then removed towards the Eastern end of the 
Platform, in the centre of the Coffer- Dam floor, where 
there was a small stage covered with crimson cloth, 
attended by four members of the Bridge Committee,' 
bearing the bottle for the coins, an inscription incrus- 
tated in glass, the level, and the splendid Silver-Gilt 
Trowel for Laying the First Stone. 




1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 48? 

This elegant instrument, which was designed and exe- 
cuted by Messrs. Green, Ward, and Green, of Ludgate 
Hill, measured 15 inches in its extreme length, and 5 
inches at the widest part of the blade ; the handle being 
d-i- inches long, composed of wrought laurel, terminating 
in very rich acanthus foliage at the end ; and its deposi- 
tory, a green morocco case lined with white satin. The 
upper side was embossed with a reclining figure of the 
Thames, with a vase, swan, and cornucopia; beneath 
which was a shield, charged with the impaled arms of 
London and Southwark, and surrounded by the sup- 
porters, crest, motto, and badges of the City. The other 
side was perfectly flat, and was decorated with a border 
of flowers ; the armorial ensigns, crest, and motto, of the 
Lord Mayor ; and the following Inscription, engraven in 
ornamental characters : — 

* THIS TROWEL 

WAS USED 

IN THE LAYING OF 

THE FIRST STONE 

OF THE 

NEW LONDON BRIDGE, 

ON THE 15tH DAY OF JUNE, 1825, 

IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF THE REIGN 

OF HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY 

GEORGE THE FOURTH, 

BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 

JOHN GARRATT, 

LORD MAYOR 

OF THE CITY OF LONDON! 

WHO WAS BORN IN THE WARD IN WHICH THE BRIDGE 

IS SITUATED, 

ON THE 15TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 1786; 

ELECTED A MEMBER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL 

FOR THAT WARD, ON THE 3RD DAY OF AUGUST, 1809, 

ALDERMAN THEREOF 

ON THE 10TH DAY OF MARCH, 1821; 

AND SHERIFF OF LONDON AND MIDDLESEX 

ON THE 24TH DAY OF JUNE FOLLOWING.' 

" Mr. John Rennie having exhibited to the Lord Mayor 
and the Duke of York a large and excellent drawing of 



488 CHRONICLES OP £a. D. 

the elevation of the New Bridge, Richard Clark, Esq., 
the venerable Chamberlain of London, next produced a 
white satin purse, containing a series of new coins of the 
reign, each separately enveloped, which being uncovered, 
and deposited by the Lord Mayor in an elegant square bottle 
of cut-glass, were placed in the cavity ; four glass cylin- 
ders, 7 inches long and 3 in diameter, intended to sup- 
port the engraved Inscription-plate, being fixed at the 
corners in plaster-of-Paris. Another member of the Com- 
mittee then handed to the Lord Mayor a block of solid 
glass, 7^ inches broad, 3|- in height, and IJp in thickness, 
enclosing these words, in Messrs. Pellats* and Green s 
Ceramie Incrustation : 

'the first stone of this bridge 
was laid by the right honble john garratt, 

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON^ IN JUNE, 1825 ; 
AND IN THE 6TH YEAR OF THE REIGN . 
OF KING GEORGE THE 4TH.' 
' PELLATS & GREEN.' 

" The Town-clerk, Henry Woodthorpe, Esq., who 
had recently received the degree of LL.D., then came 
forward with the brass Depositum plate, and read aloud 
this very fine Inscription, composed, at the request of the 
Bridge Committee, by the Rev. Edward Coplestone,D.D., 
Master of Oriel College, Oxford, and late Professor of 
Poetry in that University ; whose ' Prselectiones Acade- 
micse' have so excellently illustrated the beauties of the 
ancient Classic Poets. 

'PONTIS VETVSTI 

QVVM PROPTER CREBRAS NIMIS INTERIECTAS MOLES 

IMPEDITO CVRSV FLVMINIS 

NAVICVLAE ET RATES 

NON LEVI SAEPE IACTVRA ET VITAE PERICVXO 

PER ANGVSTAS FAVCES 
PRAECIPITI AaVARVM IMPETV FERRI SOLERENT 

CIVITAS LONDINENSIS 

HIS INCOMMODIS REMEDIVM ADHIBERE VOLENS 

ET CELEBERRIMI SIMVL IN TERRIS EMPORII 

VTILITATIBVS CONSVLENS 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 489 

REGNI INSVPER SENATVS AVCTORITATE 

AC MVNIFICENTIA ADIVTA 

PONTEM 

SITV PRORSVS NOVO 

AMPLIORIBVS SPATIIS CONSTRVENDVM DECREVIT 

EA SCILICET FORMA AC MAGNITVDINE 

ftVAE REGIAE VRBIS MAIESTATI 

TANDEM RESPONDERET 

NEQ.VE ALIO MAGIS TEMPORE 

TANTVM OPVS INCHOANDVM DVXIT 

ftVAM CVM PACATO FERME TOTO TERRARVM ORBE 

IMPERIVM BRITTANICVM 

FAMA OPIBVS MVLTITVDINE CIVIVM ET CONCORDIA POLLENS 

PRINCIPE 

ITEM GAVDERET 

ARTIVM FAVTORE AC PATRONO 

CVIVS SVB AVSPICIIS 

NOVVS INDIES AEDIFICIORVM SPLENDOR VRBI ACCEDERET. 



PRIMVM OPERIS LAPIDEM 
POSVIT 

IOANNES GARRATT ARMIGER 

PRAETOR 

XV DIE IVNII 

ANNO REGIS GEORGII QVARTI SEXTO 

A. S. M.D.CCC.XXV. 



JOANNE RENNIE S. R. S. ARCHITECTO.' 

ct The following English translation of this truly ele- 
gant composition was also engraven on the reverse of the 
plate ; though not then read. 

' THE FREE COURSE OF THE RIVER 

BEING OBSTRUCTED BY THE NUMEROUS PIERS 

OF THE ANCIENT BRIDGE, 

AND THE PASSAGE OF BOATS AND VESSELS 

THROUGH ITS NARROW CHANNELS 

BEING OFTEN ATTENDED WITH DANGER AND LOSS OF LIFE 

BY REASON OF THE FORCE AND RAPIDITY OF THE CURRENT, 

THE CITY OF LONDON, 

DESIROUS OF PROVIDING A REMEDY FOR THIS EVIL, 

AND AT THE SAME TIME CONSULTING 

THE CONVENIENCE OF COMMERCE 

IN THIS VAST EMPORUM OF ALL NATIONS, 

UNDER THE SANCTION AND WITH THE LIBERAL AID OF 

PARLIAMENT, 



490 CHRONICLES OF £a. D. 

RESOLVED TO ERECT A BRIDGE 

UPON A FOUNDATION ALTOGETHER NEW, 

WITH ARCHES OF A WIDER SPAN, 

AND OF A CHARACTER CORRESPONDING 

TO THE DIGNITY AND IMPORTANCE 

OF THIS ROYAL CITY: 

NOR DOES ANY OTHER TIME SEEM TO BE MORE SUITABLE 

FOR SUCH AN UNDERTAKING 

THAN WHEN, IN A PERIOD OF UNIVERSAL PEACE, 

THE BRITISH EMPIRE 

FLOURISHING IN GLORY, WEALTH, POPULATION, AND 

DOMESTIC UNION, 

IS GOVERNED BY A PRINCE, 

THE PATRON AND ENCOURAGER OF THE ARTS, 

UNDER WHOSE AUSPICES 

THE METROPOLIS HAS BEEN DAILY ADVANCING IN , 

ELEGANCE AND SPLENDOUR. 



THE FIRST STONE OF THIS WORK 
WAS LAID 

BY JOHN GARRATT, ESQUIRE, 

LORD MAYOR, 

ON THE 15TH DAY OF JUNE, 

IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF KING GEORGE THE FOURTH, 

AND IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1825. 



JOHN RENNIE, F.R.S., ARCHITECT. 

" Printed copies of these Inscriptions, with an em- 
bossed border, were presented to each person on entering 
the Dam ; as was also another edition of the Latin, en- 
graven on copper, of the same size as the admission - 
ticket, and having the same view of the New Bridge 
above it. The brass plate was then placed upon the glass 
pillars, when Mr. Richard Lambert Jones, Sub-Chairman 
of the Committee for erecting the edifice, presented the 
splendid Trowel to the Lord Mayor, with this address : 
i My Lord, I have the honour to inform your Lordship, 
that the Committee of Management has appointed you, 
in your character of Lord Mayor of London, to lay the 
First Stone of the New London Bridge ; and that I am 
directed to present your Lordship with this Trowel, as 
a means of assistance to your Lordship in accomplishing 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 491 

that object/ Upon which the Lord Mayor turned towards 
the Duke of York, and thus addressed His Royal High- 
ness, and the other witnesses of the ceremony. 

tC 6 Though it is not essential for me to speak at any 
length upon the purpose for which we are this day 
assembled, since its importance to this great commercial 
City must be clearly evident ; yet I cannot refrain from 
offering a few observations, feeling, as I do, more than 
an ordinary interest in the accomplishment of the under- 
taking, of which the present ceremony is only the pri- 
mary step. I cannot consider the present a favourable 
moment for entering into any chronological history of 
the present venerable Bridge, which is now, from the 
increased commerce of the country, and the rapid strides 
made by the Sciences in this Kingdom, found inadequate 
to its purposes ; but would rather advert to the many 
advantages which must naturally result from the com- 
pletion of this great national enterprise. AVhether there 
be taken into consideration the rapid, and consequently 
dangerous, currents arising from the obstruction inci- 
dental to the defects of this ancient edifice, which have 
proved so destructive to human life and property, or its 
difficult and incommodious approaches and acclivity, it 
must be matter of sincere congratulation, that we are 
living in times when the resources of this highly-favoured 
country are competent to a work of such great public 
utility. If ever there were a period more suitable than 
another, for engaging in national improvements, it must 
be the present ; governed as we are by a Sovereign, the 
munificent and accomplished Patron of the Arts, beneath 
whose mild and paternal sway, by the blessing of Divine 
Providence, we now enjoy profound peace ; living under 
a government, by the enlightened policy of which, our 
trade and manufactures so extensively flourish ; and re- 
presented by a Parliament, ever ready to foster, by the 
most liberal grants, any plans for the improvement of 



492 CHRONICLES OF [a. ». 

the Empire ; to which the present undertaking is so 
deeply indebted for its munificent support. Thus hap- 
pily situated, it is impossible to hail such advantages 
with other feelings than those of gratitude and delight ; 
and it is to me a source of unqualified pride and pleasure^ 
that this great undertaking should have occurred in the 
year when I have been honoured by the office of Chief 
Magistrate of this great, this greatest, City, not of Eng- 
land only, but of the world ; and that this important 
ceremony should take place in the Ward which I have 
the honour to represent in the Civic Councils. I cannot 
conclude without acknowledging how highly compli- 
mentary I feel it to the honourable office which I now 
fill, to meet such an auditory as now surrounds me; in 
which I see the illustrious Prince, Heir-presumptive to 
the Throne of this Kingdom ; many of His Majesty's 
Ministers, and the distinguished Nobles of the land ; my 
active brother-magistrates; my kind fellow- citizens ; 
and; above all, so brilliant an assemblage of that sex, 
whose radiant smiles, this day, shed a lustre on our 
meeting. Under such auspices, I rejoice to lay the 
Foundation-Stone of a structure, which, I trust, will, 
through all future time, prove an ornament to the Me- 
tropolis ; reflect credit on the Architect ; and redound to 
the honour of this Corporation : and I offer up a sincere 
and fervent prayer, that, in executing this great work, 
there may occur no calamity ; that, in completing what 
is most particularly intended as a preventive of future 
danger, no mischief may overcloud the universal rejoic- 
ings on the undertaking/ 

" The very warm applauses which followed this most 
appropriate address subsided only upon the commence- 
ment of the Masonic ceremonies, by a portion of fine 
mortar being placed around the cavity of the Stone, by 
several of the Assistants, and spread by the Lord Mayor 
with his splendid Trowel ; after which, precisely at 5 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 493 

o'clock, the First Stone was gradually lowered into its 
bed by a brazen block of four sheaves, and the power of 
a machine called a crab. When it was settled, it was 
finally secured by several Masons, who cut four sockets 
close to it on the stone beneath, into which were fitted 
strong iron clamps, cured with plaster-of- Paris. The 
Lord Mayor then struck it with a mallet, and ascertained 
its accuracy by applying the level to its East, North, 
West, and South surfaces. The work being thus per- 
fected, the City Sword and Mace were disposed in Saltire 
upon the stone ; successive shouts burst from the nume- 
rous spectators; the bands again played the National 
Anthem of England; and a flag being lowered as a 
signal on the top of the Dam, the guns of the Artillery 
Company, and the carronades on Calvert's Brewery 
Wharf, fired a concluding salute. The declining Sun, 
also, contributed to shed a golden glory upon the closing 
ceremony ; for, as the day advanced, its radiance streamed 
through an opening in the tent-covering above, and, 
gradually approaching the Stone, shone upon it with a 
dazzling brilliancy, at the very moment of its being 
deposited. The whole ceremonial terminated with a 
universal repetition of c God save the King,' and three 
series of huzzas, for the Duke of York, Old England, 
and Mr. Rennie ; after which, when the Procession had 
left the Dam, amidst similar acclamations to those which 
first greeted it, many of the visitors went down to the 
floor, to view the Stone more closely, and to boast to 
posterity that they had stood upon it, or walked over it. 
" To conclude the festivities of the day with appro- 
priate Civic hospitality, the Lord Mayor, at his own 
private expense, gave a most sumptuous banquet to the 
Corporation, and his noble visitors, at the Mansion 
House. The dinner and wines included Turtle, Venison, 
Champagne, Claret, and every other luxury ; to which 
the following card of Invitation thus commemorated 
the event : — 



494 CHRONICLES OF £a.D. 

1 THE LORD MAYOR REQUESTS THE HONOUR OF 

COMPANY TO DINNER AT THE MANSION HOUSE, 

ON WEDNESDAY, 15TH JUNE, AT SIX O'CLOCK PRECISELY, 

ON THE OCCASION OF LAYING THE FIRST STONE OF THE 

NEW LONDON BRIDGE. 

The favour of an answer is particularly requested by the 6th of June. 

Mansion House, May 25th 1825.' 

" A Royal dinner at Carlton Palace, on the same day, 
deprived him of the presence of the Duke of York, who 
quitted the Bridge, through Southwark, immediately 
after the ceremony. His Lordship's guests, however, 
amounted to a greater numher than had ever hefore 
dined within the Mansion House, since, in addition to 
upwards of 360 in the Egyptian Hall, nearly 200 of the 
Artillery Company dined in the Saloon; the whole 
edifice being brilliantly illuminated with gas, both 
within and without, and the entertainment superintended 
by a Committee of his Lordship's private friends. 

" To mark the deep public sense of the Lord Mayor's 
munificent conduct upon this memorable occasion, at a 
Court of Common Council held on the following day, 
Thursday, June 16th, Adam Oldham, Esq., Deputy of 
the Ward of Farringdon Within, called the attention of 
the Court to the very splendid manner in which his Lord- 
ship had conducted himself towards the Members of the 
Corporation, at the recent ceremony of Laying the First 
Stone of the New London Bridge ; and suggested that 
the Court should make some early and suitable acknow- 
ledgment of his Lordship's distinguished liberality. In 
consequence of which, at a subsequent Court held on 
July 28th, a motion was made by R. L. Jones, Esq., 
c That a Gold Medal be prepared, with a suitable In- 
scription, commemorative of the circumstance of Laying 
the First Stone of a New London Bridge, and presented 
to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor in the name of 
this Court :' which was unanimously agreed to, and its 
provision referred to the said Committee. 



1825.] LONDON BRIDGE. 495 

u This Medal, however, has not yet been presented ; 
and of two others which were prepared, as -memorials of 
this work, one had the die break in the hardening, and 
the other was struck for private distribution only : as 
their extreme rarity is, therefore, not to be questioned, I 
shall give a short account of each of them ; at the same 
time, expressing my surprise, that so important an event 
has not called forth a host of these classical memorials. 
The first private Medal was executed by Peter Rouw, 
and William Wyon, Esquires, Modeller, and Die-sinker, 
to his Majesty ; the obverse containing a Medallion of 
the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress; 




and the reverse being occupied by the following Inscrip- 
tion : — 

' to commemorate the 

laying of the 

first stone of london bridge 

BY 

THE RIGHT HON. JOHN GARRATT, LORD MAYOR, 

ON THE 15TH OF JUNE, 1825, IN THE PRESENCE OF 

H.R.H. THE DUKE OF YORK, VARIOUS BRANCHES 

OF THE NOBILITY, AND THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY, 

AND IN TESTIMONY OF HIS LORDSHIP'S 



496 CHRONICLES OF [a. D. 

PUBLIC WORTH AND PRIVATE VIRTUES, 

THIS MEDAL WAS DESIGNED 

AT THE REQUEST 

OF HIS FELLOW CITIZENS, 

BY JOSEPH YORK HATTON.' 

" The other Medal had about twenty impressions 
struck in silver, which were distributed to the Engineers, 
assistants, &c, on the day of the foundation. These 
were 2|- inches in diameter, and nearly i of an inch in 
thickness. The obverse consisted of a fine head of the 
elder Mr. Rennie, from a former Medal ; and the reverse 
contained a design, by Mr. William Knight, of the New 
London Bridge Works, consisting of an elevation of the 
edifice, with representations of the First Stone, Mallet, 
and Trowel : the Inscription being as follows : — 

' . LONDON . BRIDGE . 
. THE . FIRST . STONE . OF . THIS . 

. WORK . WAS . LAID . BY . THE . 
. RIGHT . HON. . JOHN . GARRATT, . 

. LORD . MAYOR . OF . LONDON. . 

. ON . THE . XV . DAY . OF . JUNE, . 

. MDCCCXXV . AND . IN . THE . SIXTH . 

. YEAR . OF . THE . REIGN . 

. OF . GEORGE . IV. . 

. JOHN . RENNIE . ESQ.. . F.R.S. . ENGINEER . 

. JOLIFFE . & . BANKS . CONTRACTORS.' 

" Such are the few remaining relics of this Cere- 
mony, which have been provided for posterity ; for, with 
the exception of a slight etching of the Western end of 
the Coffer-Dam, in a Memorandum Book, and an Indian 
Ink Drawing, by Dighton, of some of the principal per- 
sons standing about the First Stone, there is no other 
representation to record it. There are, indeed, several 
prospects of the finished Edifice ; though of its exact 
features, it is probable we can form no very correct 
idea, until we are a few years older; so then, let us 
here take our last View of the New London Bridge ; 
for such are all the particulars and memorials which I 
can give you concerning this interesting Civic cere- 



1825.] 



LONDON BRIDGE. 



^97 




498 CHRONICLES OF LONDON BRIDGE. 

mony ; and if the Italian of old could give his famous 
' Esto Perpetua ! * to his water-seated Venice, how 
much rather shall every true-hearted citizen bestow it 
upon this rising edifice, beneath whose expansive arches 

' The time shall come, when, free as seas or wind, 
Unbounded Thames shall flow for all mankind ; 
Earth's distant ends our glories shall behold, 
And the new world launch forth to seek the old P " 

I concluded these lines of Pope's " Windsor Forest" with 
so much enthusiasm, that I did not immediately remark 
the silence which followed ; but, upon looking up to 
wish my auditor a good night, how greatly was I asto- 
nished to find myself alone ! with only a few dim lights 
in the empty coffee-room, and the waiter sleeping in a 
distant box. Hastily starting from my -seat, I enquired 
what had become of Mr. Postern, when, to my great 
surprise, he absolutely denied that he had seen him either 
come in or go out. Since that time, too, I have every- 
where, but in vain, sought "the learned Pundit" who 
had so long conferred with me. I certainly cannot dis- 
credit the evidence of my own senses, but, upon recon- 
sidering all the circumstances, it appears to me that I 
must have seen and conversed with the shade of Peter 
of Colechurch, the original Architect of London Bridge ! 
Our narrative, however, rests upon more solid founda- 
tions ; for, as I have verified every authority referred to, 
these Chronicles are presented to posterity as the col- 
lected memorials of that once famous edifice, which within 
a few years will exist no longer. 



GENERAL INDEX. 



A, Book in the City Records so marked, 92 

Abel, Alderman Richard, 285 

Abjuration of the Realm, ceremony of, 157 

'Acta Sanctorum,' (1643-1786), 21, 22, 217 

Acts of Parliament concerning London Bridge, 338, 339, 350, 418, 

464-466 
Agarde, Arthur, Anecdote of the Easterlings and London Bridge, 

435 
Alban, St., Wood Street, Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 
Alexander, Daniel, plan for enlarging London Bridge, 456 
All Saints, Barking, Bridge property in the Parish of, 188 

Gracechurch, ditto, 189 the Less, ditto, 190 

Ames, Joseph, on dates found at London Bridge, 218 
Antwerp, Arms of London painted at, 131. Antwerp View of 

don, 296 
Andrew Hubbard, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 189 
Antelope, used by the English Kings in their Arms, 166 
Antiquities found at London Bridge, 218, 223, 380, 466-468 
Arches of London Bridge, various particulars of the, 331—333, 372, 

400, 401, 411—415, 417, 418, 456 
Ardern, Thomas de, his gift from the Bridge Rents, 39 
Arms of London, discussion on the, 126 — 134 
Arnold, Richard, his ' Chronicle,' &c, 209—214, 217 
Arthur, King of Great Britain, his Arms, 129. , Prince of Wales, 

rejoicings on his marriage, 221 

Assize Rents, 89. Pleadings, 90 

Aubyn, Sir John, his portrait of Sir Edward Osborne, 228 

Audery, Mary, Notices of, 26, 29, 31—33 John, vide Overs. 

Augustin, Gate of St., its ancient site, 97 

Aunger, Peter, evidence of his Jurors on the keeping of London 

Bridge, 87 
Austin Pappey, St,, Bridge property in the Parish of, 189 
Ayloffe, Sir Joseph, his account of London Bridge, 67, 73 

Bagford, John, antiquarian illustrations from his collections, 7, 8, 

74, 275 
Baily, Dr. Thomas, his ' Life and Death of John Fisher, Bishop of 

Rochester,' (1655,) 248 

K K 2 



500 GENERAL TNDEX. 

Baker, Sir Richard, his ' Chronicle of the Kings of England,' 

(1733,) 127 
Bakers of South wark, notice concerning the, 92 
Bale, John, his character of Leland, 234 
Banks, Miss, her collection of Shop Bills, 278, 280 
Banner of the City of London, device on, 128—9 
Barbican, nature and use of the, 74 
Bardolf, Lord Thomas, his head on London Bridge, 155 
Barking Abbey, gifts to, from London Bridge, 105 
Bartholomew the Less, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 
Basing, Thomas de, evidence of his Jurors on London Bridge, 88 
Basinghall, or Bassishaw Ward, evidence of the Jurors on London 

Bridge, 86 
Battle Abbey, Sussex, Grant to, by King Henry I., 40 
Benedict, St., Gracechurch Street, Bridge property in the Parish of, 

189 
Bentham, Sir S., 455, 450 ; his design for a New Bridge, 446, 447 
Bermondsey Abbey, gift to, from London Bridge, 39. Register of, 

40,44 
Billingsgate, ancient tolls taken at, 22 
Black, James, his design for a New Bridge, 444 
Blackfriars' Bridge, its erection, &c, 373, 421, 424 
Blakethorne, John de, evidence of his Jurors on London Bridge, 87 
Blanket Fair, papers and prints relating to, 342 — 346 
Bloome, Richard, his « Continuation of Stow's Survey,' 150, 295, 

332, 334 
Boethius, Hector, his ■ Scotorum Historiae,' (1575,) 135, 139, 144 
Bolingbroke, Roger, his treason and execution, 197, 198 
Books published on London Bridge, 275 
Borough Water- Works, 415 

Bossewell, John, his « Workes of Armorie,' (1591,) 129 
Botolph, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 188 
Bow, Church of St. Mary le, London, dreadful damage done to, 36 
Bowles, John, his Prints of London Bridge, 368, 383 
Boydell, J., his Perspective Views, 368 
Braun, George, his ' Civitates Orbis Terrarum,' (1523,) 265 
Brand, Rev. John, his < History of Newcastle,' (1789,) 109 
Bray, William, his « History and Antiquities of Surrey,' (1804-14) 

89, 281, 373 
Brethren of London Bridge, protection granted to the, 79 
Bridge-House and Yard, historical notices of the, 77, 223, 263, 264. 
Estates and Rental of, 195, 207, 210— 213, 227, 245, 262, 289, 304, 
350, 360, 364, 365, 428, 456. Revenues of, for building the New 
Bridge, 465. Manner of letting the property of, 471. Offices, 
&c, of the Bridge Masters, 102—105, 213, 384. Bridge-House 
Committee, proceedings of, 458, 459, 464, 465, 471 
Bridges, ancient one near London, 8. General Destruction of, 37- 
Building of, an action of piety, 50. Ancient taxes for erecting, 
51. Chapels built upon, 68, 69. Various ancient uses of 90 
Bridge Street, custom of Fish paid at, 83. Disturbance in the, 156 

Penance of the Duchess of Gloucester, 197 
Bridget, St., Bridge property in the parish of, 191 



GENERAL INDEX. 



501 



Briggs, John, London Bridge fired from his house, 28D, 292 

Brompton, John, his ' Chronicon,' 22, 23, 36 

Bulmar, Bevis, his Water -Works at Broken Wharf, 255 

Buhner, Capt. John, his plan for blowing a hoat over London Bridge, 
311, 314 

Bunyan, John, his residence and death, 285 

Burnet, Dr. Gilbert, Bp. of Salisbury, his * History of the Reforma- 
tion/ (1681,) 231 

Butchers, Ancient City Ordinances for, 122 — 124 

Butler, Rev. Alban, his life of St. Olave, 21 



Cade, John, his Insurrection, 201 — 206 

Caesar, Julius, his Landing at London, 6, 7 

Camden, William, Clarencieux King of Arms, his « Anglica,' (1608,) 

126 
Canaletti, Antonio, his View of the Monument, 383 
Canot, Peter Charles, his engraving of Old London Bridge, 367 
Capell, Sir Edward, his order for Stocks and Cages, 245 
Carpenter, J., his compilation of City Customs, 91 
Carthusian Monks executed for denying the King's supremacy, 248 
Catherine Cree Church, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 189 
Challoner, Dr. Richard, Bishop of Debora, his < Catholic Book of 

Martyrs,' 272, 308, 314 
Chambers, Susanna, her bequest to St. Magnus' Church, 304 
Chapel on London Bridge, 61—67, 220, 287. Taken down, 380. Chapels 

on other Bridges, 68, 69 
Chapman, William, his plan for enlarging London Bridge, 456, 461 
Charles II., King of England, his entry into London, 318, 319 
Chapter House, Westminster, Records there, 88, 90, 102 
1 Chevy Chace,' the tune of, 303 
Christmas Carol, London Bridge mentioned in, 109 
Ciaconio, Alphonso, his ' Vitas et Res Gestae Pontificum Romano - 

rum,' (1630,) 46 
Clarendon, Edw. Hyde, Earl of, his ' History of the Rebellion,' 

(1819,) 307, 311, 318 
Clement, Eastcheap, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 
4 Close Rolls,' references to the, 54, 77 
Coffer-Dam, for laying the First Stone of the New London Bridge, 

473, 474, 475—482 
Coinage, historical notices of the English, 280 — 283 
Coke, Sir Edward, historical illustrations from, 39, 50, 51 
Cold-Harbour, ancient festivities there, 10 
Colechurch, St. Mary, its site, 45 
Colechurch, Peter, the Chaplain of, rebuilds London Bridge, 44, 45. 

His death, 52, and burial in the Bridge Chapel, 65 
Coleman Street Ward, evidence of the Jurors of, respecting London 

Bridge, 87 
Commons, House of, proceedings concerning London Bridge, 457 — 

459, 463 
Common Council of London, proceedings concerning London Bridge, 

91—93, 122—124, 213, 410—415 
Concannen, M,, his * History of South wark,' (1795/ 33,415 



502 GENERAL INDEX. 

Conder, James, his i Arrangement of Provincial Tokens,' (1798,) 288 
Coplestone, Rev. Dr. Edward, his Foundation-Inscriptions for the 

New London Bridge, 488—489 
Corn-Mills at London Bridge, 257—260 
Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, his * Travels through England 

in 1669, (1821,) 341 
1 Cottonian Manuscripts,' 35, 161 — 164, 435 
Coventry, Walter and William of, 75 
Coventry, Ancient House of the Mayor at, 254 
Courts of Justice, origin of, 101 
Cowdray Hall, Sussex, ancient Paintings at, 265 
Crawford, David Lindesay, Earl of, his Passage of Arms on London 

Bridge, 136—146 
Crosses anciently used in Arms, 129, 130 
Crowle, J. Charles, his < Illustrated Pennant/ 340, 345, 354, 380, 

423, 442 
Crypt of London Bridge Chapel, 64, 65 
Culham Bridge, Oxfordshire, verses on, 50 
1 Curia Regis/ account of the, 101, 102 
Custom of Fish paid at the Bridge Street, 83 

Dagger in the City Arms, 127—134 

< Daily Courant,' (1722,) 356 

Dance, George, his Reports on London Bridge, 377, 369, 428, 456, 

459, 426, 427. Design for a Double Bridge. 442, 443 
Danes, their invasions of London, 13, 14, 16—18, 23 
Defoe, Daniel, his ' Journal of the Plague Year/ (1722,) 323 
Desmond, James, Earl of, his execution, 256 
D'Ewes, Sir Symonds, his Manuscripts, 54 
Dion Cassius, his ' Historise Romanae/ 8 
Dodd, Ralph, his Drawings of Old London Bridge, 440, 448. Designs 

for a New one, 4&9 
Dodsley, Robert, his « Annual Register/ 426. * Collection of Old 

Plays/ (1780,) 432 
Dolphin taken at London Bridge, 146 
4 Domesday Book/ (1783,) concerning Southwark,27 
Douce, Francis, his ' Arnold's Chronicle/ (1811,) 209 
Douglas, Sir Robert, his • Peerage of Scotland/ 145 
Douglass, James, his designs for an Iron Bridge, 441, 442, 444 
Dowgate Ward, evidenceof the Jurors of , respecting London Bridge, 88 
Drayton, Michael, his < Polyolbion/ (1613,} 334 
Draw-Bridge and Draw-Lock at London Bridge, 237, 331, 355, 403, 

405. Tower on, 171 
Drought in the Thames, 99, 263 
Droit wich, Worcestershire, Bridge and Chapel at, 68 
Dryden, John, his ' Annus Mirabilis/ 433 
Ducarel, Dr. Andrew Coltee, notices of, 48, 67, 287 
Du Cange, N. L. du Fresnoy, Seigneur, his * Glossarium/ (1733-36,) 

90. 
Dugdale, Sir William, Garter King of Arms. His * Monasticon 

Anglicanum/ (1661, 1723,) 25, 26, 29, 257. His < Baronage of 

England/ 1676,) 145 



GENERAL INDEX. 503 

Duncomb, Sir Charles, his gift to St. Magnus' Church, 335 

' Danmow Chronicle,' 75 

Dunstan, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 188 

' Dunthorne,' a hook in the City Chamber so called, 129 

D'Urfey, Thomas, his < Wit and Mirth,' (1719,) 303 

Easterlixgs,, anecdote of the, 435 

Edmund, St., Lombard Street, Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 

Edward I., King of England, custom of wool paid to, 51. Inquisi- 
tions made (by, 85-88. Patents granted to London Bridge, 94, 
96, 98, 113 

Edward IV., King of England, his Chapel on Wakefield Bridge, 68. 
Crosses London Bridge, 206 

Edwards, Edward, his 'Anecdotes of Painting,' (1808,) 286 

Edwards, John, his bequest to London Bridge, 183 

Eleanor of Provence, Queen of Henry III., insulted at London 
Bridge, 80, 81. Custody of the Bridge granted to, 83. Inqui- 
sitions concerning, 86 — 88 

Elizabeth, Queen of England, splendid book belonging to, 48. Her 
Statutes against Papists, 271 

Elmes, James, his ' Memoirs of Sir Christopher Wren,' (1823,) 335, 
387 

Elmham, Thomas of, his ' History of Henry V.' 163 

Entick, Rev. John, his edition and Continuation of ' Maitland's 
History of London,' (1772,) 15, 23, 26, 27, 28, 40, 53, 54, 65, 71, 
72, 73, 84, 88, 91, 92, 94, 98, 100, 120, 121, 149, 156, 207, 213, 335, 
338, 342, 352, 357, 360, 364, 366, 369, 371, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 
385, 392, 396, 404, 408, 417, 420, 421 

Ethelred II., King of England, makes a peace with Olaf, 13. De- 
fended by the Citizens, id. Battle with the Danes, 16. Laws 
of, 22 

Evans, J., on the music to the Ballad of London Bridge, 112 

Evelyn, John, his ' Diary,' (1819,) 325, 342 

Exchequer Chamber, "Westminster, Records there, 86, 90. Excheq. 
Rolls, 79. 

Fabyan, Robert, his < Chronicles,' (1559,) 149, 170, 173, 209, 222 

Faith and Gregory, SS., Bridge property in the Parishes of, 192 

Falconbridge the Bastard's attack on the Bridge, 208 

Fall of the Thames at London Bridge, 402. 

Feckenham, John, his bequest to the Bridge, 182 

Ferries over the Thames, 7, 12 

Fesecock, Walter, Gate-keeper of the Bridge, 135 

Fire of London, 324—326. Fires at the Bridge and its vicinity, 37, 

41, 75, 289—294, 358, 385, 404 
Fisher, John, Bishop of Rochester, his execution, &c, 248, 249 
Fishmongers, ancient City ordinances concerning, 122 — 124. Their 

Hall and Company, 127, 327—329, 469 
Fitz-Stephen, William, his ' Description of London,' 5, 6, 9, 10, 41, 

73 
Fleetwood, Dr. William, Bishop of Ely, his ' Chronicon Preciosum,' 

(1745,) 39 



504 GENERAL INDEX. 

Floods in the Thames, 36, 37, 400, 408, 409 

« Flying Fame,' tune of, 303 

Foesoe, Island of, Monumental Bridge there, 90 

Fordun, John de, his ' Scotichronicon,' 142 

Fords over the Thames, 7 

Fore-Street Ward, evidence of the Jurors of, respecting London 

Bridge, 87 
Forests near London, 6 
Fosbrooke, Rev. Thomas Dudley, his ' Encyclopaedia of Antiquities,' 

(1825,) 221 
Foulds, John, his Soundings, &c. at London Bridge, 427, 429, 434 
Fowle, Bartholomew, his account of the First building of London 

Bridge, &c.,25, 26 
Fox, John, his ' Acts and Monuments of Martyrs,' (1610,) 244, 431 
Friars Minors, their gift to London Bridge, 124 
Frisell, orFraser, Sir Simon, his execution, 119 
Froissart, Sir John, his * Chronicles,' 153 
Frosts and Frost-Fairs, (1091,) 37, (1281,) 99, (1564,) 246, (1608,) 272, 

(1683,) 342—346, (1709, 1715,) 354, (1740,) 361—364, (1768,) 420, 

(1789,) 422—425, (1314,) 452—456 
Funeral of King Henry V., 168—170 

Gale, Dr. Thomas, his ' Historian Anglicanae Scriptores' xv. (1691,) 

37, 81 
Garnet, Henry, his execution, 272 
Garratt, Alderman John, (Lord Mayor,) Lays the First Stone of the 

New London Bridge, &c, 475—493 
Gate of London Bridge, 73, 82, falls down with two Arches, 196. 

Medalet of, 284. Burned, 358. Rebuilt, 358, 359, 382 
Gates of London thrown into the River at London Bridge, 395 
' Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser,' 410, 411, 414, 415, 420, 421 
« Gentleman's Magazine,' references to, 67, 108, 109, 218, 294, 361, 

376, 379, 381, 385, 395, 404, 412, 440 
George, St., South wark, Bridge rents in the Parish of, 192 
Giffard, William, Bishop of Winchester, his gifts to St. Mary 

Overies, 27 
Gifford, William, his censure of London Bridge, 432 
Giles, Francis, his Survey of the Great Arch, 459 
Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of, his disputes with Cardinal Beau- 
fort, 170, 171 

Eleanor, Duchess of, her penance, 196, 197 

Godwin, Earl of Kent, his passage of London Bridge, 24 

Dr. Francis, Bishop of Landaff, his Book ' De Prsesuiibus 

Anglias Commentarius,' (1743), 47, 49 
Goodall, Walter, his » Fordun's Scotichronicon,' (1759), 142 
Gough, Matthew, his defence of London Bridge, 204 
Richard, his 'British Topography, 5 (1780,) 68, 245, 259, 265, 

273, 290, 305, 345, 354, 368, 389. His < Sepulchral Monuments,' 
- (1786-96,) 33, 167, 219. His < History of Pleshy,' (1803,) 153, 221 
Grafton, Richard, his * Chronicle at large,' (1569,) 127 
Great Arch of London Bridge, 348-350, 393, 394, 398, 400, 411, 420- 

427, 428, 459, 461 
Green, M., on the Ballad on London Bridge, 108, 109 



GENERAL INDEX. 505 

Grey, Hon. Anchitell, his ' Debates in Parliament,' (1763,) 450 
Grose, Capt. Francis, his ' Antiquities of England and Wales,' 

(1773-87,) 34 
Grove, John, his ancient View of London, 345 
* Guilda de Ponte,' notices of, 430 
Guildhall, arms in the Crypt of, 132 
Guillim, John, his 'Display of Heraldry,' (1724,) 130 
Guthrie, William, his < Peerage,'- (1742,) 229 
Gwynn, John, his « London and Westminster Improved,' (1766,) 410 

Hall, Edward, his < Chronicle,' (1550,) 198, 204, 218, 221 

' Harleian Manuscripts' cited, 11, 40, 54, 75, 118, 132, 152, 156, 158, 

160, 164-166, 168, 172, 173-180, 183-195, 199, 235, 275, 353 
Harpocrates. effigy of, found at London Bridge, 467 
Harrison, Walter, his ' History of London,' (1776,) 348, 367, 379, 385 
Hatton, Edward, his « New View of London,' (1708,) 133, 252. 347 
Hawkins, Sir John, his dispute respecting the Bridge House, 264 
Hawksmoor, Nicholas, his ' Historical Account of London Bridge,' 

(1736,) 58, 59, 68, 71 
Heads erected on London Bridge, 119, 198, 205, 218, 248, 256, 272, 

308, 309, 314, 433, 436 
Hearne, Thomas, his « Collectanea,' 7, 74. His ' Leland's Itinerary, 

45, 49. His ' Liber Niger Scaccarii,' 53, 77, 83, 94-98, 113, 121, 

122, 135, 196, 206. His ' Thomas of Elmham,' 163. His Letter 

to Bagford, 235. His ' Collection of Curious Discourses,' 435 
Heath, Henry, his execution, 309 

Henry I., King of England, his grant to Battle Abbey, 40 
III., , his impositions on the Citizens, &c, 79, 

83, 85, 86-88. 
V. , , builds Culham Bridge, 50. His victoriou- 

return to England, 160, 164. Pageants at London Bridge, 161, 

163, 165, Antelope used as his supporter, 166, 167. His funeral, 

168-170 

. VI., , his return after his coronation in France, 



173-180. Marriage to Margaret of Anjou, 198. Deposition , &c, 
207 

Hentzner, Sir Paul, his « Itinerarium,' 237, 239 

Heralds' College, Manuscript there, 132, 229 

Herbert, George, his Letters, 274 

William, a resident on London Bridge, 279, 280, 380. His 

view after the fire, 389 

'• Hero and Leander, the Loves of,' (1653,) Poem, 300-302 

Hewit, Sir William, 227, 228 

Hoffmann, John Jacob, his ' Lexicon Universale,' (1698,) 70, 348 - 

Holbein, Hans, a resident on London Bridge, 286 

Holinshed, Raphael, his * Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ire- 
land,' (1585-86,) 127, 142, 208, 209, 222, 254, 431 

Hollar, Wenceslaus, Views of London engraved by, 298 

Horn, John, evidence of the Jurors of his Ward concerning London 
Bridge, 87 

Home, Andrew, his ' Mirroir des Justices,' (1624,) 159 

Rev. Thomas Hartwell, his ' Account of the Rotuli Scotice,' 

(1819,) 137 



506 GENERAL INDEX. 

Hoveden, Roger de, his « Annales,' 24, 36, 37, 38 

Howell, James, his « Londinopolis,' (1657,) 142, 315-317 

Howes, Edmund, his edition of ' Stow's Annales,' (1631,) 99, 126, 135, 

146, 149, 152, 156, 159, 160, 168, 170, 172, 196, 199, 208, 218, 221, 

242, 246, 254, 256, 263. His < Continuation of Stow's Chronicle,' 

(1611,) 272, 274 
Hugo, Cardinal-Deacon of St. Angelo, 46 
Hugo, the Illuminator, his account of the Chapel on London Bridge, 

66 
* Hundred Rolls,' explained and referred to, 85-88 
Hutton, Dr. Charles, 445, 446. His < Mathematical Tracts,' (1812,) 37 

James I., Kiug of England, his Statutes against Papists, 271 

James, John, his etymology of the word Starling, 435 

Illuminated Manuscripts, 41, 42, 219, 220 

Ingram, Rev. J., his < Saxon Chronicle,' (1823,) 13 

Inquisitions of the Wards of London, concerning London Bridge, 

86-88 
Inscriptions on the New London Bridge Tickets, 477, 494 ; on the 

Trowel, 487 ; on the Glass-hlock, 483 ; on the Depositum-plate, 

488, 489 ; on Medals, 495, 496 
Joceline, Alderman Ralph, his defence of the Bridge, 208 
John, King of England, recommends a new Architect, and gives the 

custody of the Bridge to his Almoner, 53, 54 
Johnes, Colonel Thomas, his ' Translation of Froissart's Chronicles, 

(1803,) 154 
Johnson, Maurice, his ' Sepulchral Monuments,' 33 
Johnstone, Rev. James, his ( Antiquitates Celto-Scandicce,' (1786,) 

16—18 
Jones, Richard Lambert, Chairman of the New London Bridge Com 

mittee, 476, 490, 494 
Jonson, Ben, his « Staple of News, 432 
Joseph of Arimathea, his Son's banner, 129 
Jovius, Paulus, Bishop of Nocera, his ' Descriptio Britannia* ,' &c, 

(1548,) 237 
' Journals of the House of Commons,' 377, 378 
Isabel, Empress of Germany, her dowry, 77, 78 
Isenbert of Xainctes, 53 
Julius III., Pope, his death, 243 
Jousting on London Bridge, 135 — 140 

Kempe, Alfred John, his « Historical Notices of the Sanctuary of 

St. Martin's le Grand,' (1825,) 158 
Kempson, Peter, his Medalets of London Bridge, 284 
Kennet, Dr. White, Bishop of Peterborough, his * Historical Re T 

gister,' (1744,) 318 
Killegrew, Anne, her verses on London Bridge, 408 
King's Bench, origin of the Court of, 102 
King's, or Prince's Lock, state of, in 1814, 454 
Kitching, John, his evidence on London Bridge, 460 
Knight, William, on the construction of London Bridge, 397—399, 

462. His medal of the New Bridge, 496 



GENERAL INDEX. OU* 

Knute, King of Denmark, turns the River's course, 23, 71 
Knyghton, Henry, his Book ' De Eventibus Anglice,' 149 

L., anciently borne in the City arms, 131 

Labelye, Charles, his plans for altering London Bridge, 369, 371 

' Lady's Fall,' tune of the, 302 

Laguerre, John, his supposed residence on London Bridge, 286 

Lamharde, William, his ' Dictionarium Anglias Topographicum et 
Historicum,' (1730,) 26 

Lambeth, Archiepiscopal Library, Manuscripts on London Tithes, 
in the, 215 

Lands, &c. of London Bridge, survey of, 184 — 1 95 

Lawrence Pountney, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 

Lee River, Ancient Inquisitions concerning, 103 — 105. Mentioned in 
a song on London Bridge, 106 — 108 

Leeds, Duke of, 230, vide Osborne 

Leland, John, his ' Itinerary,' (1768-69,) 45, 46, 49, 232. Biographical 
notice of, 232. His < Cygnea Cantio,' 232—237 

Leonard, Eastcheap, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 189 

Lethullier, Smart, his classes of Sepulchral Monuments, 33 

Lewisham Manor, held by London Bridge, 185 

' Liber Albus Transcriptum,' 91, 92 

Linsted, Prior, vide Fowle 

Lists for Joustings, order and measure of, 138 

Livius, Titus, an historian of Henry V., 170 

« Lloyd's Evening Post,' 379 

Lodge, W., his engraving of Wakefield Bridge and Chapel, 68 

Lollards, execution of, 168 

London, alterations in, 1, 2. Ancient forest near, 6. Notices of 
British and Roman London, 6 — 8. Landing of Caesar at, 7. 
Ancient Bridge near, 8. Tavern on the River banks, 10. Fes- 
tivities on ditto, id. Ballad of ' London Lickpenny,' 14. Ferry 
at, 7, 12. Captured by the Danes, 16. Surrendered to Ethelred, 
18. Tolls at, 22. Great part burned, 37, 41 . Public works at, 
37, 38. Impositions on, by Henry III., and custody taken from 
the Citizens, 79. Inquisitions concerning, 86. Evidence of the 
Wards of, on London Bridge, 86—88. Ancient Records of, 
91—93. Waste places in, given to the Bridge, 96 — 98. Ordin- 
ances for Stocks Market, 121—124, Inquiry into the arms of, 
126—134. Its Charter seized, 148. Pageants in, 148/ Charter 
restored, 149. Quit-rents of the Bridge, 186. Tithes anciently 
paid in, 215, 304. Stocks and cages placed in, 245. Notices of 
ancient views of, 245, 265, 268, 297. Fortified, 256, 257, 309—311. 
Great Fire of, 324 —326. Its ruins covered with flowers, 433. 
Act of Parliament for rebuilding, 339. Oates of, sold by auction, 
395. Registry of the Bishop of, in St. Paul's, 182 

London Bridge, (994,) notices of the first wooden one, 13, 15, 25-^28, 
(1008). Snorro Sturleson's description of, 16. Destroyed by 
Olaf, 17. Norse songs mentioning, 18. Tolls at, 22. (1013,) Dila- 
pidated state of, 23. (1016,) How avoided by Knute, 23. (1052,) 
Earl Godwin's passage at, 24. (1067,) Its original situation, 34, 
35. (1091,) Destroyed by a flood, 36, 37. (1097,) Tax for re- 



508 GENERAL INDEX. 

building, 37- (1114,) River dried at, 38. (1122,) Rents given 
to, 39. Work of , remitted, 40. (1136,) Burned, 41. (1163,) 
Rebuilt of wood, 44. (1176,) First stone one commenced, 44. 
Benefactors to, 46, 47, 50. Tradition concerning, 50. (1201,) 
King's letter for a new Architect, 53. (1205,) Death and burial 
of Peter of Colechurch, 52, 65. Custody given to Brother Wasce, 
54. (1209,) Finished, and Description of, 55. View of the 
Southwark end, 56. Objections to, 57. Defence of, 57, 58. 
Ground-plan and measurements of, 60, 61. Chapel on, 61—65. 
Engravings of , 66, 68. Account of its piles, &c, 72. Earliest 
buildings on, 73, 76, 82, 94, 150, 151. (1212,) Dreadful fire at, 
75, 76. (1213,) Toll for repairing, 77- Bridge House and yard, 
77. (1247,) Rents of exempted, 78. (1249,) Custody taken from 
the Citizens, 79. (1252,) Protection to the Brethren of, ib. 
(1263,) Queen Eleanor assaulted at, 80, 81. (1264,) Earl of 
Leicester opposed at the gate of, 81. (1265,) Custody given to 
St. Catherine's, 82. (1269,) Transferred to Queen Eleanor, 83. 
(1275,) Inquisition concerning her keeping, 84, 86—88. (1278,) 
Ancient rents paid at, 89, 90. Market on, 91, 92. (1280,) Patent 
for repairing, 94. (1281,) Customs granted to, 90, 91. Waste 
places in London given to, 95, 98. Five arches broken, 99. 
(1302,) Mills belonging to, at Lee, 102—106. Song and music 
of, 107, 108, 111—113. (1305,) Pontage granted to, 113—116. 
Heads erected on, 117—120. (1320,) Patent for collection, 121, 
(1323,) Revenues in Stocks Market, 121—124. (1368,) Land 
given by the Friars Minors, 124. (1381,) Entry of Wat Tyler, 
126. (1385,) Patent for the gate-keeper, 135. (1390,) Pas, 
sage of arms on, 135—140, 142. (1391,) Dolphin taken at, 146 
(1392,) Richard II. received at, 148, 149. (1396,) Fatal crowd 
on, 151, 152. (1397, 1400,) Heads erected on, 154, 155. (1415,) 
Triumphs for Henry V. at, 160—163,229. (1416,) Lollards' heads 
erected on, 168. (1422,) Funeral of Henry V., 168, 169. (1425,) 
Tumult at the gate, 170, 171. (1426,) Drawbridge Tower 
erected, 172. (1428,) Duke of Norfolk's barge lost at, 172. 
(1431,) Heads of rebels placed on, 173. Entrance of Henry 
VI. at, 173, 175— 180. (1433-36,) Bridge Chapel, 180—182, 195. 
Bequests to, 182, 183. Survey of Bridge lands, 183— 195. (1437,) 
Fall of the gate and two arches, 196. (1440,) Bolingbroke's 
head placed on, 197. (1445,) Margaret of Anjou received at, 
198—200. (1450,) Cade's entry at, 201. Battle on, 204, 205. 
(1451,) Heads of the rebels set on, 205. (1465,) Rents of, 207- 
(1471,) Falconbridge's attack on, id. (1481,) Buildings de- 
stroyed on, 208. (1483-94,) Rents and payments of, 210— 
215, 217. (1497,) Rebels' heads on, 218. (1500,) Illuminated 
drawing of, 220. (1501,) Pageant at, 221. (1504-14,) Fire and 
dates of repair of, 222, 223. (1521,) Polydore Vergil's account 
of, 224. (1533,) Rents and payments of , 227. Anecdote of Os- 
borne, 227—230. (1539-40,) Chapel, Rents, and Seal of, 230, 
231. (1545,) Leland's verses on, 233, 234. (1547,) Ancient 
view of, 265. (1548,) described by Paul Jovius, &c, 237, 238. 
(1554,) Pageants on, 431. Wyat's attempt on, 240—243. (1555,) 
Cage on, 245. (1556.) Rents and ancient view of, 245. (1562-65,) 



GENERAL INDEX. 509 

Rents and payments of, 262. (1577,) Drawbridge tower re- 
built, and heads removed to Traitors' gate, 246. (1579,) South- 
wark gate and Nonesuch House, 250 — 254. (1582,) Water- 
Works erected, 254. (1583.) Desmond's head placed on, 256. 
(1586,) Standards hung on, 257. (1588,) Corn-mills and Water- 
works at, 257—261, 265—269. (1605,) Heads of Catholics erected 
on, 272. (1616,) Views of, 289. (1619,) Houses, Signs, Tradesmen, 
&c, of, 274— 283, 285, 288. (1624,) Rents, &e, of, 289. (1629,) Views 
of, 290. (1633,) Fire on, 289—303- (1636-38,) Rental and Tithes of, 

304. (1640,) Bequest to, 304, 305. (1641,) Extraordinary tide at, 

305, 307. (1642,) Heads of Catholics at, 308, 309. Gate taken 
by the Parliament. 311. (1643,) Capt. Buhner's scheme for 
blowing a boat over, 311—314. (1645.) Jesuit's head set on, 
314. (1647,) Views of, 296. (1657,) Howell's verses on, 315— 
317. (1660,) -Entry of Charles II. at, 318. (1661,) Vision seen 
on, 320,322. '(1663,) Notice of, by M. de Monconys, 322. (1665,) 
The Plague, 323. (1666 : ) The Great Fire, 324—326. View of, 298. 
Repairs, 330. Drawbridge at, 331. Particular arches of, 
331—333. Water-works at, 338—341. (1669,) Notice of by 
Signor Magalotti, 341. (1685,) Street widened, 347—349. (1689,) 
Suicide at, 349. (1693,) Made free of Orphanage, id. (1701,) 
Value of Offices belonging to, 350. Arches let for the Water- 
works, 352. (1710,) Nicholls's print of, 352, 353. (1722,) Thames 
dry at, 355. Conviviality on, id. Act for the widening of, 356. 
Tolls and measurements of, 357. Fire at the. gate of, 358. New 
Gate erected, 358, 359. (1727,) Rents, &c. of, 360, (1753,) Rents, 
&c. of, 364. ( 1754, ) Plan and Acts for repairing of, 366, 369—371 . 
Depth of water at, 372. State of in 1746, id. (1755,) Tolls and 
improvements of, 374 — 376. Dangerous state of, 377. (1757 J 
Temporary Bridge, 379. Houses taken down, 379, 380. Views 
and accounts of the buildings on, 380—384. Bridge-Masters, 
384. (1758,) Fire on the Temporary Bridge, 385— 393. (1759,) 
Great arch constructed, 348, 349, 393, 394. (1760-61,) Danger- 
ous state of, 394. Alteration of various parts of, 395 — 399. 
Tides at, 400. Passage of the Locks, 401 , 402. Drawbridge re- 
moved, 403. Houses and square removed, 406—408. (1763.) 
Damaged by floods, &c. 409. (1766,) Alterations finished, 410, 411. 
(1767,) Increase of the Water-works, 411 — 417- Ground-plans of 
428. Soundings at the Great Arch, 483, 429. Guilds connected 
with inll79-80, 430. Noticed in ancient dramas,431 — 433. Flowers 
growing on, 433. Etymology of the word Starling, 434, 435. 
(1800—1801.) Plans for new Bridge, 437—446, 464. Eastern view 
of, 448. Prince's Lock in the Frost of 1814, 454. Plan for 
enlarging, 456, 457, 461—463. Dangers of its navigation, 457, 
485,463. Survey of the Great- Arch, 459. State in 1821, id. 
Revenues of, 460, 461. Construction of its piers, 461, 462 

London Bridge, New, Abstract of the Act for erecting, 464—466. 
Antiquities discovered at, 466 — 468. Ground-plan, &c. 468 — 
470. Coffer-Dam for laying the first Stone, 473, 474—482. Civic 
Procession and Ceremonial at, 482 — 486. Inscriptions for, 488, 
489. Medals of, 495, 496. 



510 GENERAL INDEX. 

London, Committee for Improving the Port of, their proceedings 

concerning a new Bridge, 442 — 446 
' London before the Great Fire, (1818,) 246, 290 
« London Chronicle,' 380, 387, 388, 393, 422, 424 

* London Daily Post,' 363, 364 

* London Magazine,' 393 

Lords Mayors, ancient portraits of, 228 

Lottery, notice of an ancient, 273 

Lydgate, John, 164. His Poems on Henry V. and VI., 164—166, 

174—180. Verses to Margaret of Anjou, 200. Character of his 

Writings, 201 

Macpherson, David, his < Wyntown's Chronicle,' (1815,) 143 
Madox, Thomas, his ' History and Antiquities of the Exchequer,' 

(1711,) and MSS., 78, 83, 430 
Magalotti, Lorenzo, his notice of London Bridge, 341 
Magna Charta, illustrations from, 50, 51, 101 
Magnus, St., Church of, 36. Bridge property in the Parish of, 187- 

Tithes and Benefice of, 214, 304. Ancient Church of, &c, 215, 

216. Medal of, 284. Bequest concerning, 304. Particulars of 

the Church of, 334—337. Fire at, 403. Opening of the Steeple 

of, 405 
Maitland, William, vide Entick 
Malcolm, James Peller, his * Londinium Redivivum, '(1802-1807,) 55, 

174, 336, 376, 3/8, 405. His Anecdotes of the Manners and 

Customs of London, (1808,) 355 
Malmesbury, William of, his account of Sweyn's Invasion of Lon- 
don, 14. Remarks on, &c, 15, 36, 37 
Mandeville, William, his insurrection and execution, 173 
Mansion House, Festival given at the, in honour of the New London 

Bridge, 493 
Manuscripts, notices and descriptions of various, 35, 40, 41 — 43, 75, 

91, 92, 120, 129, 132, 152, 161, 163, 164, 183, 199, 215, 219, 292 
Margaret, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 189 

. — : --, South wark, rents paid to London Bridge from, 192 

Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI., her marriage, coronation, 

and entry at London Bridge, 198 — 200 
Market on London Bridge, ancient orders concerning, 91, 92, 122—124 
Marmion, Shakerley, his « Antiquary,' (1641,) 432 
Martin, St., Ludgate, Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 
Martin Outwich, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 
Mary Abchurch, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 

Aldermanbury, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 192 

at Axe, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 189 

at Hill, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 188 

Bothaw, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 

Mary, Queen of England, description of a Manuscript belonging to, 

42. Pageants exhibited to, on London Bridge, (1554,) 431 
Maskelyne, Dr. Nevill, 445, 446 
Matilda Fitz Empress, Queen of Henry I., her gifts and buildings 

at Stratford, &c, i04 



GENERAL INDEX. 511 

Medalets of London Bridge, 284 

Medals of New London Bridge, 495, 496 

Meyrick, Dr. Samuel Rush, his ' Critical Enquiry into Ancient 

Armour,' (1824,) 139 
Michael, St., Bassishaw, Bridge property in the Parish of, 192 

— '• , Cornhill, Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 

, Crooked Lane, Bridge property in the Parish of, 190 

. -, Queenhithe, Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 

Mist's Weekly Journal, (1725,) 358 

Monamy, Peter, his residence on London Bridge, 286 

Monconys, Balthasar de, his notices of London Bridge, 322 

Money, illustrations of the ancient value of, 39 

Montfort, Simon de, Earl of Leicester, opposed at London Bridge, 

81,82 
Monument illuminated with gas, 475 
More, Sir Thomas, his head erected on London Bridge, 249 

, , his ' Life of Sir Thomas More,' (1726,) 249 

Moris, Peter, his W ater-Works at London Bridge, 254, 256, 351 
Morison, Robert, his ' Prseludia Botanica,' (1669,) 433 
Morse, Henry, his head set on London Bridge, 314 
Mqrtimer, Edmund, Earl of March, his claim to the Crown, 155 
Motraye, Mons. Aubri de la, his ' Voyages,' (1727-32,) 339 348 
Montague, James, his plan for enlarging London Bridge, 613; evi- 
dence concerning, 460 
Music to the Ballad on London Bridge, 111. To a song on the Fire 

on London Bridge in 1633, 303 
Myine, Robert, his account of the building materials of Old Lon- 
don Bridge, 59. Reports on ditto, 409, 414. Drawings relating 
to, and opening of the Great Arch, 448, 449. Design for a New 
Bridge, 440 

N^smith, James (vide Tanner,) his 'Itineraria Symonis Simeonis 

et Willielmi de Worcestre,' (1778,) 66 
Nelson, John, his execution, 272 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, similarity between its Bridge and that of 

London, 109 
Newcourt, Richard, his ' Repertorium Parochiale Londinense/ 

(1708,) 19, 36, 180, 215, 304 
Newman, Robert Finch, his evidence concerning London Bridge, 

460. Antiquities in his possession, found at London Bridge, 467 
New River Company, London Bridge Water- Works transferred to, 419 
Nicholl, Anthony, his evidence on London Bridge, 458 
Nicholls, Sutton, his print of London Bridge, 353, 354 
Nichols, John, his ' Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Centurv,' 

(1812,) 67, 287 
Nichols, John Bower, his < Brief Account of the Guildhall,' &c., 

(1819,) 132 
Nicolson, Dr. William, Bishop of Carlisle, his 'English, Scotch, and 

Irish Historical Libraries,' (1736,) 22, 75, 81, 233 
Nonesuch House on London Bridge, 251, 253. Probable time of its 

erection, 254, Modern Inhabitants of the, 288, Inscription on, 

347. Modern prospect of, 382 



512 GENERAL INDEX. 

Noorthouck, John, his * History of London,' (1773,) 385 
Norden, John, his view of London Bridge, 262, 266—268 
Norfolk, John Mowbray, Duke of, his barge lost at London Bridge, 172 
Northampton, John de, evidence of the Jurors of his Ward con- 
cerning London Bridge, 88 
Nyauncer, John, his murder and abjuration, 158 

Offices and Officers of London Bridge, 350, 470, 471 

Olaf, St., King of Denmark, his invasion of England, 13. His truce 
with Ethelred II., id. His destruction of London Bridge, 17, 
18. Norse Songs to his memory, 18. Churches dedicated to, 
and Legend of, 19—22. Hymn to, 22. 

Olave, St., Church of, in Southwark, 19 — 22. Bridge property in the 
Parish of, 192 

, in the Wall, Bridge property in the Parish of, 192 

Oldcastle, Sir John, Lord Cobham, his zeal as a Protestant, 167 

Old 'Change, origin of its name, 97 

Orford, Horace Walpole, Earl of, his 6 Anecdotes of Painting,' 
(1799,) 286, 368 

Orleans, Charles Duke of, illuminated copy of his Poems, 219 

Orphans' Fund of London, 349 

Osborne, Sir Edward, his gallantry at London Bridge, 227, 228. No- 
tices of his family, 229, 230 

Overs, John, his supposed monumental effigy, 29, 33, 34. « History 
of the Life and Death of John Overs,' (1744,) 30—33 

Overies, Church of St. Mary, historical notices of, 25—30, 33, 75 

* Owen's Weekly Chronicle, or Universal, Journal,' 392 

PACKiNGTotf, William de, notice of, 75 

Pageants at London Bridge, 148, 160, 161—163, 165, 173, 176--180, 

198—200,221,431 
Pancras, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 
Papists, statutes enacted against, 271 . Execution of, 272 
Paris, Great Bridge of made an Exchange, 90 
Paris, Matthew, legend from his ( Historia Major,' (1644,) 131 
Parker, Matthew, Archbp. of Canterbury, his Book ' De Antiqui- 

tate et Privileges Cantuariensis, &c.' (1572,) superb copy of, 47 

Parsons, , Great Arch of London Bridge opened by, 448, 449 

Patent Rolls, references to the, 51, 53, 79, 82, 83, 86, 94, 95, 96, 98, 

.99, 100, 113, 12], 124 
Paul, St., Patron of the City of London, 128 
Pegge, Rev. Dr. Samuel, his' Fitz Stephen's Description of London,' 

■(1772,) 5, 9, 10,41,73 
Pellat and Green, Messrs. , their Incrustated Glass Block for the New 

London Bridge, 488 
Pennant, Thomas (vide Crowle), his * Account of London,' (1791.) 

11, 228, 347 
Pepys, Samuel, his ' Diary,' (1825,) 298 
Pepysian Library, Magdalen College, Cambridge, ancient Drawing 

of London Bridge in the, 259—262 
Percy, Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Dromore, his ' Reliques of Ancient 

English Poetry,' (1794,) 302 



GENERAL INDEX. 513 

Philosophical Transactions,' 352, 417 
Philpot, John, Somerset Herald, his MSS., 132. His tract of the 

■ Citie's Advocate/ (1629,) 133 

Piers of London Bridge, how constructed, 396, 397. Section of one 

at the Great Arch, 398. Opened and examined, 459. Of the 

New London Bridge, "469 
Pinkerton, John, his ' Essay on Medals,' (1789,) 283 
' Placita Rolls,' their nature and contents, 102. Extracts from, 102 

—105 
Plague, notices of London Bridge during the, 328 
Playfair, John, 445, 446 

Plays, mention of London Bridge in old English, 431, 432 
Plutarchus, his account of the Pontifices, 69 
Poetry, various pieces of, connected with London, London Bridge, 

&c, 6, 11, 18, 22, 50, 107, 108, 118, 127, 143-145, 164—166, 174 

—180, 200, 233, 237, 300—302, 316, 317, 334, 343, 344, 361,362, 

423, 454 
Pontage granted to London Bridge, 113 — 116 
Pontifices, their institution and offices, 69 
Poter, Walter le, evidence of the Jurors of his Ward concerning 

London Bridge, 87 
Prince's or King's Lock, London Bridge, view of, in the Frost of 

1814, 455 
Printing on the Frozen Thames, 343—345, 354, 362, 423, 453, 454 
' Protestant Mercury,' (1700,) 336 
Proverbs on London Bridge, 318 
Provisions, ancient prices of, 39 
' Public Advertiser,' 366, 369, 379, 380, 403, 404, 405, 406, 408, 409, 

411, 422,423, 425 
6 Public Ledger.' 403 

Queenhithe, ancient market at, 331 

Ward, evidence of the Jurors of, concerning London 

Bridge, 87 
Quern, Church of St. Michael le, its ancient site, 97 
Quintain on the Thames, 41, 43 

Rastall, William, his edition of the' Statutes,' (1594,) 158. His 

■ Pastimes of People,' 205 

Ray, Rev. J., his * Collection of English Proverbs,' (1737,) 318 
Raynewell, Sir John, his Arms, 172 

Rennie, John, 445, 446, 452. Evidence and Works of, 452. His 
• plan for building New London Bridge, 461 . Design of adopted, , 

464, 487, 493. Medal of, to commemorate the work, 496 
Rents anciently paid for buildings on London Bridge, 89 
< Reports on the Public Records,' (1801,) 86 
' Reports and plans for the Improvement of the Port of London, 

(1799-1801), 427, 428, 429, 434, 438—441, 443—449 
■ Reports and Evidences relating to London Bridge,' (1821,) 456, 

457, 459, 461, 472 
' Reresby, Sir John, Travels and Memoirs of,' (1813,) 349 
Richard II., King of England, Treaties for his marriage, 134. His 

L L 



514 GENERAL INDEX. 

magnificence, 147. Fines the City, and enters at the Bridge, 

148. His marriage with Isabel of France, 151. Charged with 

the Duke^f Gloucester's murder, 152, His friends executed, 

and his own murder, 153, 154 
Richard T ^Archbishop of Canterbury, his contribution to the Bridge, 

47- His life, character, and death, 47 — 49 
Richardson, William, Canon of Lincoln, his edition of Godwin's 

Book * De Praesulibus Anglias Commentarius,' (1743,) 47 
Ritson, Joseph, Song from his ' Gammer Gurton's Garland,' (1810,) 

107- His < Ancient Songs/ (1790,) 120. His censure of Lyd- 

gate, 201 
Roadway of London Bridge, its formation, 398 — 399 
Robeson, John, 445, 446 
Robertson, Rev. A., 445, 446 
Rochester Bridge, destruction of, 99 
Rocket, London, growing on London Bridge, 433 
Rock Lock at London Bridge, 332, 382 
Roe, Bartholomew, his execution, 308 
Romans, their arrival at London, &c. , 6—9 
Rotuli Scotice, extracts from the, 136—138, 140, 141 
s Royal Library,' Illuminated MSS. in the, 41— -43, 219, 220 ] 
Rouw, Peter, his Medal of Alderman Garratt, 495 
Ruding, Rev. Rogers, his ' Annals of Coinage,' (1819,) 283, 436 

Safe conduct, various instruments of, translated, 137, 140, 141 

St. Catherine's Hospital, custody of London Bridge, granted to, 82 

St. Martin's le Grand, foundation of the Sanctuary of, 158 

St. Mary's Lock, danger of, 458. Sterlings of, 460 

Salva Regina, Guild of, in St. Magnus' Church, 216, 305 

Sanctuary, ancient law of, 157, 158 

Sanazario, Giacomo, his Sonnet in praise of Venice, 315 

Savile, Sir Henry, his ' Rerum Anglicarum ScriptorespostBedam,' 

(1596,) 14, 24, 36 
« Saxon Chronicle,' (1823,) 13, 15,23, 24,38 
Scots, Mary, Queen of, her sentence proclaimed in London, 256 
Scott, Samuel, his picture of Old London Bridge, 368, 380. Copy from, 

369. Views of buildings from, 381—382 
Scott, Sir Walter, his edition of * Dryden's Works,' (1808,) 433 
Scott, William, his fac-simile of Norden's View of London Bridge, 268 
Scotus, Marianus, his ■ History of England,' 15 
Seal of London, notice of an ancient, 127 
Serres, Dominic, his residence on London Bridge, 286 
Service-Books, alterations made in the, 231 
Seymour, Robert, his « Survey of the City of London,' &c. (1734,) 

288, 333, 348, 350, 357, 358 
Shakspeare, William, historical references to his Dramas, 203, 205, 431 
Sheriffs, custom of drinking to the, 256 
Sheuteman of London Bridge, order for the, 314 
Shop-Bills of London Bridge, 278,280, 406, 407 

Signs and Shop-keepers on London Bridge, 274—279, 280, 282, 407, 431 
Singer's, Samuel Weller, his ' Cavendish Life of Wolsey,' ( 1825), 226 
Sisymbrium Irio, growing on London Bridge, 433 



GENERAL INDEX. 515 

Skidmore, Peter, his Medalets of London Bridge, 284 

« Sloanian Manuscripts,' 78 

Smeaton, John, his plan for strengthening the Bridge, 395. His 

Reports on London Bridge, &c., 395, 409, 415, 417, 430. His 

plan for strengthening the Great Arch, 449 
Smith, John Thomas, his < Antiquities of London,' (1791,) 34 407 

362 368 ' AnCient T °P°S ra P h y of London,' (1810,) 288,' 290,' 

Smith, William Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, his account of 

the Aims of London, 131 
Snorro Sturleson, 16. His account of London Bridge, &c, 16-18 
Llr'/w h / S Pl f f ° r Stren ^ning a Cast-iron Bridge, 446 
Southey, Robert, his < Specimens of the Later English Poets,' (1807,) 

Southwark, ancient market and fortifications in, 16. Battle of, 17 
18. Songs on, 18. Church of St. Olave, 19, 20, 21. Church of 
St- Mary Ovaries, 25-30. Dreadful Fire in, 75. Presentments 
concerning the Bridge, 89, 90. Orders of the Common Council 
concernmg dealers in, 91, 92. Rents paid to the Bridge from, 
239*240 reSldenCe in ' 202 - 2 05. Arms of, 223. Fair in, 

~~ Bridge, erection, &c, 452, 473, 475 

Gate and Tower on London Bridge, 250, 382 

Sparruck, Bartholomew, his account of London Bridge, 72 

fepectator,' advertisement from the, 336 
Speed John, his - Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain,' (1611 ) 

127 
Stadler, F. C, his engravings of London Bridge, 447 
Statutes cited, 350, 357, 374, 376, 378, 419, 464 

Stephen, St., Coleman Street, Bridge property in the Parish of, 192 
__ — fet., ^ albrook, Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 

Sf 4 ° n Bridg6 ' 57 ' 58 ' 396 > 39 ?> 420 > 425 > 42 7> 434, 435, 

Stocks Market, City Ordinances concerning, 121-124. Description 
and Rents of, 194, 195 ^ 

Sfnw V^T ^° n T d()n Bridge ' 468 ' First Stone described, 484, 490 
Stow John, (vide Howes, and Strype,) his MS. collections, 11, 75. 

-Procures Leland's papers on London, 235 
Stratford, Essex, possessions of London Bridge at, 103, 186, 460 
— — — , Abbey of, dispute with that of Barking, 104, 105 

(1801,^4?' 4 h 3 S ' SP0PtS and PaStimeS ° f the Pe °P le of England,' 
Strype Rev. John, his ■ Stow's Survey of London, (1720, 1754 ) 11 

m ou X 3 tt°' 43) 44 ' 47 ' 55 ' 7 °' 73 ' 75 > 77 > 84 ' 86 > 88 > m> w, 95, m, 

ill oWo 00 ' 103 ' 106 ^ 12 °' 121 ' 126 ' 127 > 128 > 132 > 135. ^8, 71 
•M 9%' 2 Z' o 2 o°'%f 3 ' 216 ' 223 ' 2?7 ' 23J - 232 > 240 > 246 > 250 2 ^ 
Q <r f'^;. 289 ' 295 ' 328 > 329 ' m > ^ 334, 335. 339, 352, 431 
Suffolk, Wilham de la Pole, Duke of, various acts of, 196, 198. His 

banishment and execution, 201 
Supremacy, persons executed for denying the King's, 247, 272 
Sutherland, Mrs., her illustrated copy of Clarendon's History, 266 
Sweyn, king of Denmark, his invasion of London, 14, 15 



516 GENERAL INDEX. 

Swythin, St., Bridge property in the Parish of, 191 

Simon Fitz-Simeon, his notice of London Bridge and Chapel, 66 

Tanner, Dr. Thomas, Bishop of St, Asaph, his « Notitia Monastica, 
(1787,) 26, 27 

Telford, Thomas, his designs for a Cast-iron Bridge, 441, 442, 444 

Temple, Hon. Mr., his suicide, 349 

Temporary Bridge at London, 379, 385-391 

Thames, Fords and Ferries over, 7, 8, 12. Ancient Bridge on the, 8. 
Eating-House and Festivities on its banks, 10. Its course turned 
by Knute, 23. Violent Inundation of, 37. Ancient sports on, 
41, 42, 43. Ancient Channel of, 70-73. Remarkable Droughts 
in, 99, 263, 355. Praised by Polydore Vergil, 224. Frosts and 
tides in, 272, 273, 342-346. Guard on, 307. Sir C. Wren's plan 
for a Quay, 337, 338. Various depths of water at and above 
London Bridge, 372, 438. Soil of, there, 434. Inclination and 
velocity of, 462. Survey of, 463. 

Thomas-a-Becket, Chapel on London Bridge dedicated to, 61-68, 220, 
287 

Thoresby, Ralph, his 'Ducatus Leodiensis,' (1715,) 68 

Thorn, William, his ' Chronicle of the Acts of the Abbots of St. 
Austin's,' 68 

Tides at London Bridge, accounts of remarkable, (1608,) 274. (1641,) 
305-307- (1767,) 420. Particulars of the, 400, 401 

Tilting on the Thames, 42, 43 

Tithes anciently paid in London, 214, 304 

Todd, Rev. Henry John, his ' Catalogue of the Archiepiscopal 
Manuscripts in Lambeth Palace,' (1812,) 48. His edition of 
' Dr. Johnson's Dictionary,' 434 

Tokens, Tradesmen's, 280-283 

Tolls on London Bridge, 375, 376 ; on Blackfriars', 421 

Tower of London, records there, 53, 74, 77, 79, 82, 83, 85-88, 94, 95, 
96, 98, 113, 121, 122, 124, 135, 137, 140, 141 

Tower Ward, evidence of the Jurors of, on London Bridge, 86 

Tradesmen living on London Bridge, 274-279, 280-285, 407, 431 

Traitors' Gate on London Bridge, 247 

« Traytors' Perspective Glass,' (1662,) 360 

Trinity House, Report from, on Building Corn Mills at London 
Bridge, 258. High- Water Mark of the, on London Bridge, 400 

Trowel for laying the First Stone of the New London Bridge, 486, 487 

Twiss, Colonel, 445, 446 

Twysden, Roger, his ' Historise Anglicanae Scriptores Decern,' (1652,) 
21, 22, 149 

Tyler, Wat, his entry at London Bridge, 126 

Upcott, William, his Collection of ancient shop-bills, &c, 278, 343- 
345, 406 

■ Valor Ecclesiasticus,' account of and references to the, 230 
Vauxhall Bridge, 450 

Vergil, Polydore, his < Historic Angliae,' (1570,) 76, 224, 225 
Vertue, George, his engravings of Old London Bridge, &c. 55, 59, 66, 67 



GENERAL INDEX. 517 

Vincent, Thomas, his account of the Fire of London, 325 
Vision on London Bridge, account of, 320, 321 
Visscher, John, his View of London Bridge, 290 

Wakefield, Yorkshire, Bridge and Chapel at, 68 

Wale, Samuel, drawings, &c, of, 229, 385 

Walker, Anthony, his view of London Bridge after the fire, 391 

, James, Vauxhall Bridge built by, 452, His account, &e., 

of a pier of Old London Bridge, 461 
-, Ralph, his < Report,' (1823,) 401 



Wallace, Sir William, his execution, 117—120 

Walleis, Henry le, houses built by, belonging to London Bridge, 97. 

Erects a house called the Stokkes, 122 
Wallington, Nehemiah, his account of the Fire on London Bridge. 

292—294 
Walpole, Horatio, Earl of Orford, his translation of ' Sir Paul 

Hentzner's Journey into England,' (1/57J 238. His < Anecdotes 

of Painting,' (1799,) 286, 368 
Walsingham, Thomas, his * Chronica and Historia Brevis,' 126, 147, 

149, 155 
Walton, Dr. Brian, Bishop of Chester, his ' Treatise on Tithes in 

London,' (1641,) 214 

, Izaak, his ' Lives,' (1675,) 274 

Walworth, Sir William, his statue in Fishmongers' Hall, 127 

Wardens of London Bridge, 211, 213, 340, 304, 470 

Wasce, Frater, Custody of London Bridge given to, 54 

Waterloo Bridge, 452 

Watermen's petition concerning London Bridge, 411 

Water-Houseat London Bridge, 238-341 

Water-Works at London Bridge, 254, 255, 261, 351, 411, 412-422, 444 

Watt, James, 445, 446 

' Waverley Abbey, Annals of,' 37, 44, 65, 76, 85 

Wells, Lord John, his passage of arms on London Bridge, 136-138, 

142-145 
West, Friar, mistake concerning, 54 
Westminster, Matthew of, his « Flores* Historiarum,' (1570,) 81, 82, 

117, 118 

Westminster Bridge, 366. Hall overflowed, 71 

Whitelocke, Bulstrode, bis 'Memorials of English Affairs.' (1732.) 

311 
Wikes, Thomas de, his ' Chronicon,' 82 

Wilkins, George, his ' Miseries of Enforced Marriage,' (1607,) 432 
Willement, Thomas, his ' Regal Heraldry,' (1821,) 167 
William L, King of England, his charter to the Monks of Westmin- 
ster, 34, 35 

II.. , taxes and public works of, 37 

Wilson, Thomas, his design for a cast-iron Bridge, 440, 441, 447 
Winchester, Henry Beaufort, Bishop of, his disputes with the Duke 

of Gloucester, 170, 171 
< Wine and Walnuts,' (1823,) 285—287, 355, 368 
Wiseman, Samuel, his ' Description of the Burning of London,' 324 
Wolchurch, Church of St. Mary, its ancient site, 97 

MM 



518 GENERAL INDEX. 

Wolsey, Cardinal Thomas, his procession over London Bridge, 226 

Wood, Thomas, his view of London in 1599, 268 

p, John Philip, his edition of ' Douglas' Peerage of Scotland, ' 

(1813,) 145 
1 WoodfalTs General Advertiser,' (1739-40,) 363 
Wool, ancient duties on, described and considered, 50, 51 
Worcester, Florence of, his ' Chronicon,' 24, 36 

-, William of, his ■ Annales Rerum Anglicarum,' 196 

Works of London Bridge, Officers of the, 470, 471 
Wormius, Olaus, his ' Monumentum Danicorum,' (1643,) 90 
Wrangham, Archdeacon Francis, his * Langhorne's Translation of 

Plutarch's Lives,' (1813,) 69 
Wren, Sir Christopher, his belief concerning the Thames being 

turned, 71. His plan for a quay, 337, 338 
Wyat, Sir Thomas, his rebellion and attempt on London Bridge, 

240—243 
Wyatt, Samuel, his design for a new London Bridge, 440 
Wyntown, Andrew of, his ' Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland,* 143— 

145 
Wyon, William, his Medal of Alderman Garratt, 495 

Xainctes, Isenbert of, 53, 54. 



THE END. 



LONDON : 
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRfARS. 



l\ 




o° ' 



— 







c3 ^ 

V 6 * v : 



^ 






°Q 



,X 






.<*° 






/ v 



* $ 



\ -r 






• * V 









iT' • 












• o- 



o cv 



V' V 





^..^ 


AC 













